Ghana’s Annual Inflation Rate Surges 33.9%, the highest in 21-Year Ghana’s consumer price index surged 33.9 percent on a year-on-year basis in August–the highest level in 21 years–as inflation for imported items jumped. Also, the country’s CPI had a 1.9 percent hike month-on-month.
This means that the general price level in August was 33.9 percent higher than in the corresponding month in 2021, according to the August 2022 Consumer Price Index and Inflation report by Ghana Statistics Service.
Annual inflation for imported items quickened to 35.2 percent from 33.4 percent the previous month, outpacing the price growth of local items (33.4 percent) for a fifth month, according to the head of Ghana Statistical Service, Samuel Kobina Annim.
The report revealed that housing, water electricity, and gas, together with transportation costs were the main propellers of Ghana’s inflation. The hike in transportation costs is due to the elevated global energy prices which have seriously fed into transport in the country.
The annual food inflation rate in August climbed to 34.4 percent, a further spike from the 32.3 percent recorded the previous month. On the other hand, non-food inflation raced to 33.6 percent, with a 12-month average of 19.3 percent. Fruits and nuts, oils and fats, cereal products, fish, and other sea foods were the major drivers of food inflation in August.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghans raised rates by 300 basis points to 22% last month as a way to contain inflation and flatten the economy’s rapid deterioration. The government has sighted a combination of forces, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, as well as the U.S. and Chinese economic slumps as the reasons for the downsides in its economy.
What you should know
Ghana’s situation is not a peculiar one. Indeed inflation has been rising unabatedly around the world with major developed economies also having their share. The Russia-Ukraine war, which triggered a surge in crude oil prices and consequently a contagion has resulted in a rise in the cost of living in most economies with exposure to importation.
Inflation in the Eurozone reached a record high of 9.1 percent this August, climbing from the previous month’s 8.9 percent, according to Eurostat, Europe’s statistics office.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has also resorted to hawkish interest rate hikes in a bid to combat inflation.
