Inflation outlook remains negative – Report
Outlook for the country’s headline inflation still remains negative according to economic analysts with State-owned insurance firm, SIC.
This is because, a continuous slump in the value of the cedi will raise the cost of imported goods like gasoline and cooking oil, the analysts assert.
Adding that, spikes in oil prices as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, will drive overall inflation in the country higher in the coming months.
“Hence, Ghana having high exposure to importation will suffer huge rise in the cost of living,” analysts with the firm noted.
The present 31.7% inflation rate is the fastest pace since November 2003, marking the 11th consecutive month that the rate has exceeded the central bank’s target band of 8+/-2%.
“The current inflation rate implies that the purchasing powers of Ghanaians have been further eroded, despite measures by the central bank to tame the uptick,” added the analysts.
Headline inflation for the month of July 2022 rose to 31.7%. This is some 1.9 percentage points higher than the recorded 29.8% in June 2022.
This means that in the month of July 2022 the general price level was 31.7% higher than in July 2021.
Government Statistician, Prof Samuel Kobina Annim, said the inflation rate for July was mainly driven by transport and utilities.
According to the GSS, the rise in inflation was due to increments in Transport (44.6%); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (43.0%); Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (42.0%); Recreation, Sport and Culture (33.8%); Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (33.7%) and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (32.3%).
Food inflation went up to 32.3% in July 2022, from 30.7% in June 2022.
Again, non-food inflation also shot up to 31.3% in July 2022, from 29.1% the previous month.
Similarly, inflation for locally produced items was 30.9%, whereas inflation for imported items was 33.9%.
For the food group, Oils and Fats (67%); Fish and Other Seafood (42.9%); Water (42.4%); Cereal Products (40.0%); Milk, Dairy Products and Eggs (39.7%); Fruit and Vegetable Juices (37.7%); Live Animals and Meat (34.5%) and Sugar and Desserts (32.7%) recorded inflation rates higher than the food inflation rate of 32.3%.
For the month-on-month, the inflation rate between June 2022 and July 2022 was 3.1%.
Regional inflation
Eastern region recorded the highest inflation rate of 38.1%, followed by Western and Greater Accra with inflation rates of 37.6% and 35.5% respectively.
The Upper East region registered the lowest inflation rate of 19.8%.
The region with the lowest inflation rate was Upper East (15.7%), whilst Upper West recorded the least inflation rate of 21.2% for the non-food group.
Inflation Report_july 2022 by Fuaad Dodoo on Scribd
