September inflation declines to 9.8%

Inflation declined marginally to 9.8 per cent as at the end of September 2018, compared to the 9.9 per cent recorded in August the same year..

This represents a drop of 0.1 percentage points.

Inflation, which is determined by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change over time in the general price level of goods and services that households acquire for the purpose of consumption.

A statement issued by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in Accra on Wednesday, however did not state any reasons for the decline recorded.

Food and non-food inflation

The food inflation basket of the CPI recorded a rate of 8.7 per cent, 0.8 percentage points higher than the 7.9 per cent recorded in August 2018.

The non-food basket, however, recorded an inflation rate of 10.3 per cent in September 2018, compared to the 10.8 per cent recorded for August 2018 which translated into 0.5 percentage points lower.

Six subgroups recorded inflation rates higher than the 8.7 per cent average rate for the food inflation basket. Coffee, tea and cocoa recorded the highest rate (13.1 per cent), fruits made up 11.3 per cent followed by food products representing 10.5 per cent.

Both meat and meat products, as well as mineral water, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices recorded 10.2 per cent, with vegetables recording 9.6 per cent.

For the non-food basket also, transport (14.4 per cent), clothing and footwear (14.3 per cent), recreation and culture (13.9 per cent), furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance (12.4 per cent) and miscellaneous goods and services (11.5 per cent) were the five price drivers recording rates above the average 10.3 per cent.

Regional inflation

At the regional level, five out of the 10 regions (Upper West, Brong Ahafo, Western, Northern and Ashanti) recorded inflation rates higher than the national average rate of 9.8 per cent.

“Upper West Region recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate of 11.9 per cent, followed by Brong Ahafo with 10.7 per cent; then Western, Northern and Ashanti regions recorded 10.3 per cent, 10.3 per cent and 10.0 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, the Upper East Region recorded the lowest year-on-year inflation of 8.4 per cent,” the statement said.