Data from the Ghana Statistical Service shows that the year 2021 ended with a national inflation rate of 12.6%.
Compared to the 12.2% recorded in November 2021. This new figure represents a 0.4% rise in the inflation rate.
Month-on-month inflation between November and December 2021 was 1.2%
This is the 7th consecutive time the inflation rate has seen an increase, and it becomes the highest recorded since the Ghana Statistical Service rebased the Consumer Price Index in August 2019.
The new inflation figure of 12.6% also exceeds the Finance Ministry’s forecast of 8+/-2% for the year under review.
According to the Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the jump can be attributed to higher costs of housing, water, electricity and gas, as well as an overall increase in the contribution of non-food inflation to national inflation.
Food inflation slowed to 12.8% from 13.1% in November, while non-food price growth accelerated to 12.5% from 11.6%.
Food inflation’s contribution to total inflation decreased from 47.7% in November to 45.2% in December, and this can be attributed to the rush to purchase goods in November ahead of Christmas to escape the price hikes in the festive season.
However, non-food year-on-year inflation, which was what pushed the overall inflation figure up, on average, went up again in December compared to November (from 11.6% to 12.5%).
Two out of the 12 non-food divisions had the 12-month rolling average to be higher than the year-on-year
inflation for December 2021.
Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other fuels recorded the highest inflation in December 2021 (20.7%) while higher cost in transportation followed suit with a 17.6% increase.
On a regional level, the Upper West region, shockingly, recorded the highest year-on-year inflation to see an 18.6% increase in the price of goods and services.
Although the Eastern Region recorded the lowest year-on-year inflation (7.4%), it recorded the highest inflation rate of 4.8%.
Meanwhile, the inflation for imported goods was 10.4% (higher than the 9.8% recorded for November) while the inflation for locally produced items was 13.3% (up from the 13.0% recorded in November 2021).