Ghana inflation rate for October falls to 11.6%

The annual consumer price inflation fell to 11.6 per cent in October from 12.2 per cent in September, while the monthly change rate in October was 0.9 per cent and that of September was 0.0 per cent.

Dr Baah Wadie, the Government Statistician presenting the figures in Accra on Wednesday attributed the dropped in the rate to reduction in non-food items such as transport, clothing and footwear, routine maintenance and miscellaneous goods and services.

The Government Statistician said the year-on-year non-food inflation rate for October was 13.2 per cent compared with the 14.1 per cent recorded in September, while the year-on-year food inflation rate for October was 8.2 per cent, compared with 8.1 per cent recorded in September.

He explained that the year-on-year non-food inflation rate of 13.2 per cent was more than one and half times that of the food inflation rate of 8.2 per cent, adding that the year-on-year inflation rate for imported items of 12.2 per cent was 0.8 per cent point higher than that of locally produced items of 11.4 per cent.

Dr Wadie said the main “price driver” for non-food inflation rate were transport, recreation and culture, furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance, clothing and footwear, and miscellaneous goods and services, while the driver for food inflation rate was fish and sea food.

He said five Regions; Greater Accra, Brong Ahafo, Western, Ashanti, and Eastern Regions recorded inflation rates higher than the national average of 11.6 per cent.

He said Greater Accra Region and Western Regions recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate of 12.3 per cent, followed by Eastern, Ashanti, and Brong Ahafo Regions, while the Upper East Region recorded the lowest year-on-year inflation of 9.1 per cent in October.

Source: GNA