Inflation rises to 5.5% in October as transport and services costs climb
Food inflation fell to 2.8 per cent, but transport hit 14.1 per cent and services are now rising three times as fast as goods.
Ghana's inflation rate climbed to 5.5% in October, marking the third consecutive monthly rise, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. The increase was primarily driven by non-food items, which saw a 7.9% rise, compared to a 2.8% rise in food prices. Transport costs surged by 14.1%, the highest among the 13 spending divisions, largely due to lorry fare hikes.
Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel prices contributed the most to the inflation rate at 10.5%. Over the past year, inflation has been climbing steadily, reaching 5% in August and 5.2% in September. The current rate is still 2.5 percentage points lower than the 8% rate a year ago. The consumer basket shows services inflation at 11.5%, up from 8.3%, while goods inflation decreased to 3.8% from 4.2%.
Food prices dropped 2% month-over-month, with fresh tomatoes experiencing the most significant annual price increase at 119.3%. Prices of parking spaces and related services rose by 47.2%, and mango prices increased by 45.3%. Despite the cedi losing about 10% against the dollar this year, imported inflation remained unchanged at 2.4%.
Regional differences exist, with the Northern Region recording a negative 0.5% inflation rate, indicating prices were lower than a year ago. The inflation rate remains below the Bank of Ghana's target of 8% (plus or minus 2 percentage points).
Written by urgent.news from 3News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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