The year-on-year inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), stood at 14.5 per cent in March, up from 14.0 per cent recorded in February 2014.
That rate of inflation for March 2014 was the percentage change in the CPI over the 12-month period from March 2013 to March 2014.
The Government Statistician, Dr Philomena Nyarko, who announced this at a news conference in Accra yesterday, said the monthly change rate for March 2014 was 0.9 per cent, compared with the 1.1 per cent recorded in February 2014.
She said the food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded an average year-on-year inflation rate of 8.2 per cent, 0.7 percentage points higher than the 7.5 per cent recorded in February 2014.
“Six sub-groups of the food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded inflation rates above the group’s average of 8.2 per cent,” she added.
The Government Statistician said the non-food group recorded an average year-on-year inflation rate of 19.2 per cent in March 2014, compared to a rate of 19.0 per cent recorded in February 2014.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded the highest rate of 43.8 per cent, followed by transport, which recorded 27.3 per cent.
Inflation was lowest in the communications sub-group at 5.0 per cent.
On the regional level, she said the year-on-year inflation rate ranged from 9.1 per cent in the Upper West Region to 17.1 per cent in the Ashanti Region.
Three regions — Ashanti, Greater Accra and Eastern — recorded inflation rates above the national rate of 14.5 per cent.