Ghana’s inflation rises to 9.1% in January on petroleum prices increase

Ghana’s inflation for January 2011 is 9.1%, the Ghana Statistical Service has said today.

The inflation rate for December 2010 was 8.58%, the lowest since 1992.

Mr. Ebo Duncan, Head of Statistics at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), had predicted that Ghana’s inflation rate which has been sliding down significantly in the last 19 months may come to a halt following the hikes in fuel prices announced by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) early January.

He had argued in January 2011 that “From the fuel prices increase that we have seen over the period, we always see that whenever there is fuel price hikes then inflation rate increases.”

The NPA announced a 30% increase in petroleum prices, followed by an 18% increase in transport fares in the country.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s inflation rate has largely been projected to fall this year as the economy grows following the commercial production of oil. The 9.1% rate is below the 9.2% predicted for the end of 2010 by the Ministry of Finance.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi