Inflation drops further to 26.4% in November
The general level of prices consumers paid for goods and services has reduced further to 26.4 per cent for November, the fourth consecutive month.
Advertisement
This is a reduction from the 35.2 per cent recorded in October 2023.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, shows that the drop was the most significant seen in the last 13 months, primarily occasioned by a decrease in food inflation, notably fish and other seafood, as well as water and soft drinks.
Food inflation dropped by 12.6 per cent to 32.2 per cent in November 2023.
The month-on-month rate of food inflation was 0.8 per cent.
The Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Anim, presenting the CPI data yesterday, stated that non-food inflation eased to 21.7 per cent in November 2023, as compared with 27.7 per cent in October 2023.
The data also showed that month-on-month rate of non-food inflation stood at 2.2 per cent.
The country has been battling with high inflation for the past two years as the rate hit an all-time high of 54.1 per cent in December last year.
Other Trending Stories
Since the beginning of 2023, the rate has witnessed a continuous decline, falling for the first time in 19 months to 53.6 per cent in January and further to 52.8 per cent in February and now down to 26.4 per cent in November 2023.
Prof. Anim explained that the drop meant that in the month of November 2023 the general price level was 26.4 per cent higher than same period last year.
He said month-on-month inflation between October and November this year was 1.5 per cent.
On the regional disparities in inflation rates, he noted that the 13-month drop in the national inflation rate was also a result of base-effect comparisons.
Prof. Anim said the Western Region recorded the highest inflation rate at 39.8 per cent, while Greater Accra registered the lowest inflation rate at 19.8 per cent.
At a more detailed level, the inflation rates were distinct for food and non-food items.
Food inflation experienced a noticeable decrease from 44.8 per cent in October 2023 to 32.2 per cent in November 2023, the Government Statistician pointed out.
He said in spite of the drop, food inflation rate remained higher than the overall headline figure of 26.4 per cent.
On the other hand, non-food inflation significantly fell below the national average, declining from 27.7 per cent in October 2023 to 21.7 per cent in November 2023.
Prof. Anim pointed out that at the disaggregated level, 20 items were outlined as national and household-level issues for wider engagement.
Among them, 11 showed inflation rates surpassing the 50 per cent mark, saying all 20 items exhibited inflation figures exceeding 40 per cent.
They include tea bags, milk, carrot, non-alcoholic champagne, sports clothes and ready-made clothes for boys, which are all imported food and non-food items that recorded the highest inflation rates.
Advertisement
Their respective rates are 73 per cent, 58.2 per cent, 56 per cent, 55.4 per cent, 53.4 per cnt and 53 per cent respectively.
“These identified goods or commodities represent critical elements within the economy, and their inflation rates soaring beyond the 40 per cent mark signal widespread challenges,” he stated.
Prof. Anim said the prevalence of such high inflation across the essential items signified a broad impact on both national economic indicators and the day-to-day lives of households.
Ministry of Finance
The Ministry of Finance has welcomed the development, saying interventions of the government had contributed to the favourable inflation outcome.
Advertisement
A source at the ministry mentioned the interventions to include the stability in the exchange rate, with the cedi depreciating cumulatively against the dollar by 7.2 per cent from
February-to-date, compared to 47.6 per cent for the same period last year.
The government, the source added, also made significant progress in fiscal consolidation with the primary deficit (on commitment basis) reducing from 4.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in January to September last year to 0.9 per cent of GDP in the same period this year.
The source said the Bank of Ghana also supported the efforts with monetary intervention while the relatively good performance of agriculture in the first half of the year, which stood at 6.3 per cent compared to the 4.3 per cent growth in the same period last year, also contributed to the inflation outturn.
Advertisement
“Stability with growth is our commitment to the people of Ghana.
The disinflation trajectory favours this objective as we expect interest rates to fall and the cost of borrowing for businesses to reduce, thereby supporting the inclusive growth agenda,” the source added.