Inflation rate for January 2018 dropped by 1.5% from the 11.8% recorded in December last year to was 10.3%.
Acting government statistician, Dr. Baah Wadieh, attributed the decrease to a base-drift effect associated with fall in prices of major food and non-food items, especially those produced locally.
“There were reduction in the inflation rates in areas such as food and non-food inflation, health inflation rate and transport,” he indicated.
The food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 6.8 percent. This is 1.2 percentage points lower than the rate recorded in December 2017.
Six subgroups of the food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded inflation rates higher than the group’s average rate of 6.8 percent.
The non-food group recorded a year-on-year inflation rate is 12.0 percent in January, compared to the 13.6 percent recorded for December, 2017. Five subgroups recorded year-on-year inflation rates higher than the group’s average of 12.0 percent.
Transport recorded the highest inflation rate of 17.9 percent, followed by clothing and footwear with 16.7 percent, recreation and culture with 13.7 percent, miscellaneous goods and services with 12.7 percent, and furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance with 12.1 percent.
Inflation was lowest in the education subgroup with 5.5 percent.
Regional level inflation
At the regional level, the year-on-year inflation rate ranged from 7.8 percent in Upper East region to 12.1 percent in Upper West region.
Four regions Upper West, Brong Ahafo, Ashanti and Greater Accra regions recorded inflation rates above the national average rate of 10.3 percent. Upper East recorded the lowest inflation rate of 7.8 percent.
Easing inflation
Since 2017 the country’s inflation rate has been easing.
“The index has gone up but if you look at the rate you realize it went down,” Dr. Wadieh stated.
According to the acting government statistician, easing inflation is useful for planning and price setting.
“If there is easing of inflation rate, it means there is not much pressure on purchasing power, since the central bank uses inflation to set the base right, a lower inflation rate influences the base right positively. Institutions use it to fix wages and salaries and other prices. Easing inflation helps in planning” he explained.
By Ebenezer Agyekum-Boateng|3news.com|Ghana