Inflation falls to 40.1% in August …driven by fall in food prices

The country’s year-on-year inflation rate con­tinued on the downward trend in August after it peaked at 54.1 per cent in December 2022.

Inflation fell to 40.1 per cent in August from 43.1 in July, the lowest in eight months and the month-on-month inflation between July 2023 and August 2023 fell by 0.2 percentage points.

The Government Statisti­cian, Professor Samuel K. An­nim, who disclosed this at a news conference in Accra yesterday, said the decline in inflation was influenced largely by a sharp de­cline in food inflation in August.

He said food inflation fell to 51.9 per cent in August from 55.0 per cent in July this year, repre­senting a decrease of 3.1 percent­age points.

The Government Statistician said products such as cereals and cereal products (58.9 per cent), fish and other sea foods (52.0 per cent) and vegetables, tubers, plan­tains, cooking bananas and pulses drove the food inflation rate.

Non-food inflation, Prof. Annim said, fell to 30.9 per cent in August from 33.8 per cent in July, indicating that personal care, social protection and miscella­neous goods and services (56.3 per cent), furnishings, household equipment and routine house­hold maintenance (52.6 per cent), housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (42.2 per cent) drove the non-food inflation rate.

He stated that inflation for lo­cally produced items increased to 42.4 per cent in August from 37.5 per cent in July, while inflation for imported items fell to 36.2

 per cent in August from 45.7 per cent in July.

Prof. Annim said personal care, social protection and miscel­laneous goods and services (56.3 per cent), furnishings, household equipment and routine house­hold maintenance (52.6 per cent), food and non-alcoholic bever­ages, (46.4 per cent), alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics (42.2 per cent) recorded inflation rates above the national average of 40.1 per cent.

He said health (33.8 per cent), clothing and footwear (35.4 per cent), recreation, sport and cul­ture (28.7 per cent), transport (26.4 per cent), information and communication (20.4 per cent), education services (13.0 per cent), insurance and financial services (11.1 per cent) and restaurants and accommodation services (7.6 per cent) recorded inflation rate above the national average.

Highlighting regional inflation, Prof. Annim said North East Region recorded the highest inflation rate of 85.5 per cent, while Ahafo region recorded the lowest rate of 36. 9 per cent.

BY KINGSLEY ASARE