Ghana Inflation Rate Shoots To 37.2%

The rate of inflation in Ghana shot up from 33% to 37.2% after September’s numbers came out.

This is against 33.9% recorded in August 2022.

Five groups reported higher-than-average inflation rates in September according to the GSS.

They were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other fuels (68.8%); Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (51.1%); Transport (48.6%); Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (42.6%) as well as Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (37.8%).

The sudden surge in inflation in the Housing, Water, Electricity, and other Fuel group is largely due to the introduction of the utility tariff in September 2022.

The Bank of Ghana has increased its policy rate to 24.5% in response to government efforts to combat inflation, but some analysts argue that the rise in inflation is largely due to supply and demand.

The latest data reveals that in September, the food inflation was 37.8%. However, the non-food inflation was 36.8%.

When compared with imports, locally produced items were more affordable. The inflation rate for locally made goods was 35.8%, while the inflation rate for imported goods was 40.7%.

In September 2022, ten different items recorded higher rates of inflation. Water had the largest at 58.9%, followed by milk (49%), other dairy products (48%) and sugar confectionery and desserts (48%).

Eastern region (47.1%) has the third-highest inflation rate amongst the regions of Ghana, followed by Greater Accra (45.3%) and Central region (41.9%).

There was an inflation surge of 37.2% in September 2022.

The Upper West region recorded the lowest inflation rate (22.9%).