Prof. Samuel Annim
The year-on-year inflation for December 2022 has risen to 54.1 per cent, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed.
This means that in the month of December 2022 the general price level was 54.1% higher than December 2021
Also, month-on-month inflation rate stood at 3.8 per cent in December 2022 which is lower than the previous 8.6 per cent.
Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Annim presenting the consumer price inflation for the month of December 2022, said despite a strong improvement in the value of the cedi and a reduction in the prices of petroleum products, the rate of inflation still went up in December 2022.
This he said was due to steep increases in food, transport and housing costs.
According to him the figures, five divisions recorded inflation rates higher than the national average.
“They were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (82.34 %); Furnishings, Household Equipment (71.52%); Transport (71.42%); Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (60.94%) and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (59.71%),” he added.
He added that while food inflation went up by 4.4 per cent in December 2022, Non-Food Inflation went up to 49.9 per cent in December 2022, from 46.5 per cent recorded in November 2022.
Inflation for locally produced items was 51.1 per cent and inflation for imported items was 61.9 per cent.
Eight sub-classes registered inflation rates higher than the food inflation average.
They included Water 94.2 per cent, Fruit and Vegetable Juices 84.6 per cent, Milk, Other Diary Products and Eggs 82.2 per cent and Tea, Mate and Other Plant Products for Infusion 77.7 per cent.
Greater Accra Region recorded the highest inflation of 66.7 per cent followed by the Eastern Region with 64.1 per cent and Bono Region with 60.3 per cent.
The region with the lowest inflation rate was the Volta region with a rate of 35.6 per cent.
The slowdown in the December inflation means the Bank of Ghana is expected to keep the policy rate unchanged at 27 per cent.
However, lending rates are expected to remain high at an average of about 31 per cent.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri