Ghana has recorded its lowest National year-on-year inflation rate since the country recorded its first Coronavirus case in March.
The inflation rate for August which is 10.5 percent represents a 0.9 percentage point drop from the 11.4 percent recorded in July this year. The significant reduction was influenced by the lower inflation levels of food items in the country.
This essentially means that in the month of August 2020, the general price levels in Ghana was 10.5% higher than price levels in August 2019.
Speaking to Citi Business News, Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim attributed the role played by food items to the drop in inflation for August.
“Principally this is the first time since April 2019 that we’ve recorded the lowest food contribution to year-on-year inflation. Since April 2020 we’ve been within the region of 50.6% – 53%, and this has been a consistent increase over the past 4 months, that is between April and July 2020. And for the first time the contribution of food has reduced to 47.9 %, which means that other divisions are contributing more than 50% of the total inflation figure we recorded in the month of August 2020.”
Regional breakdown
At the regional level, year-on-year inflation ranged from a low of 4.7 percent in the Volta Region to a high of 13.5 percent in the Greater Accra Region. The Ashanti, Western and Eastern Regions recorded year-on-year inflation rates of 11.2%, 11.6% and 11.9% respectively all above the national average of 10.5%.
Impact of COVID-19 on year-on-year inflation
Prior to the announcement of the first cases of Coronavirus in Ghana on March 12, 2020, inflation in the country had remained fairly stable for months recording 7.8 percent from January to March. The annual inflation however jumped to 10.6% in April from the 7.8% in March, driven by higher food and commodity prices due to a rush for items, in areas affected by the government ordered lockdowns. After witnessing general rises in the following months, with July recording an inflation of 11.4%, the month of August recorded an inflation rate of 10.5%.
