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A government statistician told journalists on Wednesday that Ghana’s annual inflation dropped to 17.3 per cent in August from 17.9 per cent recorded in previous month due to marginal gains by the local currency against the greenback.
“We had a decline in the inflation rate for the non-food group and this was mainly driven by the gains made by the cedi as we saw between July and August,” Philomena Nyarko said.
We had a decline in the inflation rate for the non-food group
Ghana’s central bank quoted $1 to 4.0 cedi on August 28, while £1 went for 6.2, with the Euro being exchanged at 4.5 cedi.
The cedi further gained value against major foreign currencies on Wednesday, with Bank of Ghana quoting $1 to 3.7 cedi while one Euro was going for 4.1 cedi and £1 went for 5.7 cedi at interbank forex market.
The non-food inflation rate was 23.4 per cent compared to 24.6 per cent registered in July, while the food inflation rate stood at 7.7 per cent.
The inflation rate for imported items was 18.1 per cent compared to 21.2 recorded, but the rate for locally produced items was 17.0 per cent, the same as the rate in July.
The main price drivers for the non-food inflation rate were recreation and culture, education, transport, clothing and footwear, furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
The price drivers for the food inflation rate included mineral water, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices, coffee, tea and cocoa, sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery, food products, meat and meat products, vegetables and milk, cheese and eggs.
Three regions – Ashanti, Greater Accra and Central – recorded inflation rates higher than the national average of the 17.3 per cent.
Upper West Region recorded the same inflation rate as the national average, while Ashanti Region recorded the highest annual inflation rate of 18.9 per cent with the Northern Region recording the lowest of 13.8 per cent.
