Inflation rate in February shows slight decline to 52.8% yoy
Inflation in February 2023 inched downwards to 52.8% year-on-year, marking a slight reduction from the previous month’s estimate of 53.6%. This decrease was mainly driven by a fall in the inflation rates of transportation and other non-food items.
This recent trend of declining inflation rates is the second consecutive time in 20 months that the rate has dropped, according to government statistician Professor Samuel Kobina Annim. Speaking to journalists about the new inflation rate, Annim noted that the reduction in February 2023 is indicative of a sustained downward trend in inflation for the year.
Annim further explained that transport recorded a higher rate of inflation than the national average, followed by furnishing, household equipment, and food. In fact, at the 13 division level, five items recorded higher inflation rates than the national rate of 52.8%, with transport leading the pack at 70.3% for February 2023.
Despite being the fifth item with a rate higher than the national average, food’s weight of 43.7% means that it contributed more to the national figure, translating into 48.1% of the February inflation figure.
These inflationary trends are important to monitor as they can impact the purchasing power of consumers, cost of living, and ultimately the overall health of the economy. As such, policymakers and market participants will be keeping a close eye on inflation figures in the coming months.
Ghana’s inflation is self 8mposed by the Ghana Statistical Service, as the components in the basket are not the true reflection of what the majority of the people are using. How come that grapes should be used, while the high price of crude oil, which forms the basis of other oil induced products are still used for computation? The Government Statistician should revisit the basket for computation , because the 10%shortfall seem to have dominated the 90% local or domestic goods and services used by majority of the people.