Recent data released by the Ghana Statistical Service reveals a slight uptick in inflation, reaching 23.5 percent in January 2024.
This marks a reversal from five consecutive months of decline. On February 14, 2024, Government Statistician Samuel Kobina Annim announced the year-on-year inflation rose from 23.2 percent in December.
Attributed primarily to a significant surge in non-food items like housing, clothing, and transport, the increase in year-on-year inflation is highlighted in a Graphic Online report.
Inflation outside of food increased from 18.7 percent in December 2023 to 20.5 percent in January 2024. But food inflation did continue to decline, if only slightly, from 28.7 percent in December 2023 to 27.1 percent in January 2024.
Food inflation was estimated to be 1.6 percent month-over-month, while non-food inflation was estimated to be 2.4 percent. Inflation rates in seven divisions have been found to be higher than the national average.
These include Restaurants and Accommodation Services (29.2 percent), Personal Care, Social Protection, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (32.0 percent), and Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, and Narcotics (38.5 percent).
Ten of the fifteen Sub-Classes with food inflation rates recorded rates higher than the overall food inflation rate of 28.7 percent; the highest rates were recorded by Cocoa Drinks (73.5 percent) and Tea and related products (71.2 percent).
Food prices were the main cause of the Eastern Region’s 37.1 percent inflation rate, which was highest, and the Greater Accra Region’s 18 percent inflation rate was lowest.