Prof Samuel Annim
YEAR-ON-year inflation has shot up by 3.3 per cent in September, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has said.
This has pushed the rate to 37.2 per cent as against 33.9 per cent recorded in August 2022.
According to the GSS, five groups recorded inflation rates higher than the national average in September.
These were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other fuels with 68.8 per cent; Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance with 51.1 per cent; Transport with 48.6 per cent; Personal Care, Social Protection, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services with 42.6 per cent as well as Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages with 37.8 per cent.
The document revealed that year-on-year food inflation (0.437) was 37.8 per cent while month-on-month Food inflation was 2.2 per cent.
Also, year-on-year non-food Inflation (0.563) was 36.8 per cent while the month-on-month non-food inflation was 1.7 per cent.
Year-on-year inflation for locally produced items was 35.8 per cent while inflation for imported items was 40.7 per cent.
Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, indicated that the implementation of the utility tariffs in September 2022 influenced the surge in inflation in Housing, Water, Electricity, and other Fuels groups.
Prior to the announcement of the September 2022 inflation, the Bank of Ghana adjusted upwards the policy rate to 24.5 per cent to help fight inflation, though some analysts argue the increasing rate of inflation is largely supply driven.
BY Jamila Akweley Okertchiri