Data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on Wednesday indicated that the country’s annual consumer inflation rate had increased to 5.2 percent in September, from 5.0 percent the previous month, marking the fifth uptick in inflation over the past 20 months.
Government Statistician Alhassan Iddrisu said during the monthly data release via Zoom that the rise in headline inflation was driven mainly by higher food prices during the month under review.
“Food inflation increased by 1.0 percentage point to 4.0 percent in September, while non-food inflation declined by 0.6 percentage points to 6.2 percent in September, from 6.8 percent in August,” Iddrisu said.
During the month of September, inflation for goods increased by 0.4 percentage points to 4.2 percent, from the previous 3.8 percent, while services declined to 8.3 percent from 8.6 percent.
Inflation for locally produced items and imported items also stood at 6.4 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, up from 6.1 percent and 2.2 percent.
During its sitting in September, the monetary policy committee of the Bank of Ghana kept its benchmark policy rate at 14 percent due to the continued moderation of underlying inflation pressures despite upside risks to the disinflation process.