Ghana’s inflation drops to 23.1%

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced the drop of the country’s inflation rate to 23.1 percent in May, 1.9 percentage points lower than the 25 percent recorded a month earlier.

   “The slower rate of inflation in May was due to the base-drift effect,” said Samuel Annim, the government statistician at the GSS, during the regular monthly briefing Wednesday.

   Compared to April, food inflation declined 4.2 percentage points to 22.6 percent in May, while non-food inflation increased 0.1 percentage points to 23.6 percent in May, said Annim.

   Meanwhile, inflation for locally produced and imported items stood at 24.7 percent and 19.6 percent, respectively, the statistician added.

   Ghana has been grappling with high inflation since 2021 amid record economic challenges characterized by high public debt and a fast depreciation of the local currency, leading to price hikes for most consumer goods.

   On May 27, Ghana’s central bank maintained its benchmark policy rate at 29 percent, signaling a vigilant monetary policy stance against high inflation.