Ghana’s inflation drops to 11.5% in August 2013

The average change in prices of goods and services in the country, measured by inflation, dropped to 11.5 per cent in August after registering a consistent rise since January, this year.

The August figure was 0.02 per cent lower than the 11.8 per cent recorded in July this year.

The acting Deputy Government Statistician, Mr Baah Wadieh, announced this at a press conference in Accra.

“The drop was generally influenced by both the food and non-food groups. Some of the items in the two groups recorded drops and that impacted the whole rate,” Mr Wadieh explained in an interview.

The non-food group recorded a rate of 14.2 per cent, nearly twice the amount recorded in the food and non-alcoholic beverages group, Mr Wadeih added.

Year-on-year inflation, which compares the change in prices of goods and services in one month against the corresponding one in the previous, has been on the rise since January, after ending last year on a record low of 8.8 per cent.

From 10.1 per cent in January, the rate rose to 10.9 per cent in April, before peaking at 11.8 last month. That consistent rise was mainly influenced by corresponding increases in prices of goods and services which was then triggered by a weakening exchange rate regime and an upward adjustment of prices of petroleum products.

The decline in the rate for August comes at a time the cedi is regaining strength against some of its main foreign counterparts, with prices of goods and services stabilising, albeit slowly.

It is,however, not clear if that drop will continue into the coming months.

On the regional outlook, the acting Government Statistician said the Western Region recorded the highest rate of 15.1 per cent, while the Upper East Region recorded the lowest rate of 3.4 per cent.

Source: Daily Graphic