Ghana inflation rate for July jumps to 31.7%

Days after the country was downgraded by S&P Ratings Agency to junk status, the Ghana Statistical Service announces the inflation rate for July 2022 has hit 31.7 per cent, from 29.8 per cent in June, which was a 19-year high, driven by high transport and housing prices.

Despite averaging 12 per cent in the last quarter of 2021, Ghana’s year-on-year inflation has been on the rise. In the second quarter of 2022, however, inflation averaged 27 per cent.

With a fast-depreciating cedi, the prospects are that inflation would keep rising in the coming months, even though price pressure is expected to ease as the price of wheat on the global market dips and the country approaches the harvest season. The cedi has depreciated more than 30 per cent against the US dollar since the beginning of the year.

Food inflation for July 2022 was 32.3 per cent compared to 30.7 per cent the previous month.

Non-food inflation stood at 31.3 per cent from 29.1 per cent in June.

Inflation for locally produced items was 30.9 per cent while inflation for imported items was 33.9 per cent.

Transport at 44.6 per cent inflation rate, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 43 per cent as well as furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance at 42 per cent were the greatest contributors to the July inflation.

At the regional level, the Eastern region recorded the highest inflation of 38.1 per cent while the Upper East Region registered the lowest rate of 19.8 per cent.