Headline inflation dips by 80bps to 25% in April
Headline inflation for the month of April 2024 declined to settle at 25%.
This is per the latest data disclosed by the Head of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Professor Samuel Annim during a press briefing on Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
The marginal dip in inflation marks a month-on-month decline of 80 basis points (0.8%) when compared to the March inflation figure of 25.8%.
The slight decrease in inflation in April follows a significant increase in March, where inflation rose by 2.6 percentage points to 25.8%.
Food inflation, the GSS notes, contributed to the overall drop in the rate of inflation as it recorded a rate of 26.8%, the lowest in 13 months with non-food inflation pegged at 23.5%.
According to Professor Annim, the consumer price index in April stood at 213.3 relative to 170.5 recorded for the same period in April 2023, resulting in a year-on-year inflation rate of 25%.
“In the month of April 2024, the consumer price index stood at 213.3 relative 170.5 which was recorded for the same time period in April 2023. Given these two indices, year-on-year inflation to the month of April 2024 stood at 25 percent.
“The year-on-year rate of inflation for the month of April 2024 stood at 25 percent. This literally means that goods and services, thus, prices of goods and services between April 2023 and April 2024 went up by 25 percent.
“This is the rate that we recorded for the month of April 2023 at 0.8 percentage point slowdown relative to the rate that was recorded in March 2024. In March 2024, we recorded an increase of 2.6 percentage points from the April 2024 rate of 23.2 percent to 25.8 percent for the month of March 2024,” he quipped.
Seven divisions recorded inflation rates higher than the national average. They are Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Narcotics (39.3%); Restaurants and Accommodation Services (33.9%); Personal Care, Social Protection, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (31.9%); Health (31.2%); Recreation, Sports, and Culture and (28.7%).
For Food inflation, 10 out of 15 Sub-Class registered inflation above the overall food inflation of 26.8%. They include Cocoa Drinks (63.4%); Tea and Related Products (59.3%); Vegetables, Tubers, Plantain, Cooking, Banana and Pulses (39.5%), and Coffee and Coffee Substitutes (35.5%).
In terms of the regional dynamics of inflation, the Upper East region recorded the highest rate of inflation at 42.5%, while the Oti region recorded the lowest rate of inflation at 16.8%.
