Prof Samuel Kobina Annim, Government Statistician
The Ghana Statistical Service has recorded a fall in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for October 2023. GSS data revealed that the month under review recorded a PPI of 9.6%.
This represents a 15.5 percentage point decrease relative to the rate recorded in September 2023 (25.1%).
However, the month-on-month change in the PPI between September 2023 and October 2023 was 1.1%.
The producer price inflation in the industry less construction sector decreased to 9.0% in October 2023 from 26.4% in September 2023.
The rate in the construction sector decreased to 44.0% in October 2023 from 48.9% in September 2023.
In the Services sector, the rate decreased from 16.1% in September 2023 to 11.7% in October 2023.
The Construction (44.0%), Electricity and Gas (39.6%), Water Supply, Sewerage, and Waste Management (25.8%), Information and Communication (12.7%), Accommodation and Food services (11.1%), and Mining and Quarrying (10.4%), recorded rates above the national average, while Manufacturing activity recorded the lowest rate of 3.2% in October 2023.
In October 2023, 18 of the 23 major groups in the manufacturing sub-sector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 3.2%.
The Manufacture of textiles recorded the highest inflation rate of 68.3%, followed by the Manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals, and botanical products at 64.2%.
In October 2023, the Extraction of crude and natural gas recorded inflation of 0.9%, indicating a decrease of 29.4 percentage points over the September 2023 rate of 30.3%.
Mining of metal ores also decreased to 14.8% in October 2023 from 34.0% in September 2023. Mining support service activities also recorded an inflation rate of 60.5%.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri