Inflation drops to 16.7% in July
Ghana’s inflation rate, for the first time in the year, saw a sharp decline to 16.7 per cent in July.
Advertisement
The relatively lower rate, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), was as a result of the stability of the local currency, the cedi.
The July rate was 0.9 percentage points lower than the 18.4 per cent recorded in June, 2016.
The Government Statistician, Dr Philomena Nyarkoh, at a news conference in Accra, said aside from the stability of the cedi, the combined effect of the declining food and non-food components of inflation helped to achieve a lower rate.
The year-on-year non-food inflation rate declined to 21. 2 per cent in July from the 24.1 per cent recorded in June.
“In July 2016, the year-on-year inflation rate for locally produced items (17.3 per cent) was 2.1 percentage points higher than that of imported items (15.2 per cent),” she said.
She added that the main price drivers for the non-food inflation were education (35.4 per cent), recreation and culture (28.3 per cent), transport (27.2 per cent), housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (25.4 per cent), clothing and footwear (24.3 per cent), furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance (23.0 per cent).
The food inflation rate was 8. 6 per cent in July, the same as recorded in the previous month.
The price drivers for the food inflation rate were vegetables (12.0 per cent), oil and fats (11.7 per cent), mineral water, soft drinks, fruits and vegetable juices (10.9 per cent), coffee, tea and cocoa (10.2 per cent); and meat and meat products (9.3 per cent).
Regional differences
At the regional levels, Dr Nyarkoh stated that the year-on-year inflation rate ranged from 10.7 per cent in the Upper East to 21.3 per cent in Greater Accra.
Two regions — Greater Accra and Ashanti — however, recorded inflation rates above the national average of 16.7 per cent.
Greater Accra recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate of 21.3 per cent, followed by Ashanti with 18.0 per cent, while the Upper East Region recorded the lowest rate of 10.7 per cent.