Ghana’s inflation down to 40.1 pct in August

   ACCRA, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) — Ghana recorded an inflation rate of 40.1 percent year on year in August, after rising to 43.1 percent in July, said the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) Wednesday.

   “For the first time in five months, we have seen a 3.0-percentage-point slow-down in the rate of increase in inflation,” said Samuel Annim, the government statistician at the GSS, during a regular monthly briefing.

   Food inflation declined 3.1 percentage points to 51.9 percent in August, while non-food inflation declined 2.9 percentage points to 30.9 percent, compared with July, Annim said.

   Meanwhile, inflation for locally produced and imported items stood at 42.4 percent and 36.2 percent, respectively.

   Annim attributed the relative drop in inflation to the harvest season, adding that some staple crops have started harvesting, driving down food prices and resulting in lower food inflation during the month under review.

   Ghana’s agriculture is still largely rain-fed, and the harvest season continues from August to December, resulting in relative food abundance, which lowers food prices during this period.

   The West African country has been battling high inflation since 2021. In its latest response to the situation in July, Ghana’s central bank hiked its policy rate by 50 basis points to 30 percent and is expected to make further decisions concerning the economy by the end of this month.  Enditem