The year-on-year inflation rate for August 2017 recorded 12.3 percent from 11.9 percent recorded in July this year, representing a 0.4 percentage point increment, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced.
Acting Government Statistician, Baah Wadie, who disclosed this to the media yesterday in Accra, attributed the increase in inflation to base-rate effect.
He also said the monthly change rate for August 2017 was -0.2 percent compared to the 0.7 percent recorded for July 2017.
He said that the inflation rate for imported goods was higher than local products.
Categories
The food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 7.4 percent, the statistician indicated, adding that that was 0.2 percentage point higher than the rate recorded in July 2017.
He said the non-food group recorded year-on-year inflation rate of 14.7 percent in August 2017 compared to the 14.2 percent recorded for July 2017.
The “price drivers” for the food inflation rate, he said were fish and sea food (14.6 percent), meat and meat products (9.5 percent) and coffee, tea and cocoa (7.8 percent).
For the non-food inflation rate, the main price drivers were transport (22.3 percent), recreation and culture (19.5 percent), furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance (19.0 percent), clothing and footwear (16.6 percent) and miscellaneous goods and services (16.6 percent).
Inflation, he noted, was lowest in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels subgroup (6.8 percent).
Regional performance
Mr Wadie said five regions namely Ashanti, Western, Brong Ahafo, Greater Accra and Upper West recorded inflation rates higher than the national average of 12.3 percent.
He indicated that Upper West Region recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate of 13.4 percent, followed by Greater Accra Region with 13.1 percent, while the Upper East Region recorded the lowest year-on-year inflation 11.06 percent in August 2017.
By Melvin Tarlue