In April 2023, inflation dropped for the fourth consecutive month, to 41.2% from 45% in March 2023, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

Since January 2023, Ghana has been recording a fall in inflation.

The Ghana Statistical Service reports that both food and non-food inflation decreased last month.

The Bank of Ghana may be forced to maintain its policy rate at 29.5% when the Monetary Policy Committee convenes its 112th Meeting on May 17, 2023 as a result of this drop in inflation.

Credit is still pricey, though, with typical loan rates hovering around 35%.

According to the figures, food inflation went down to 48.7% in April 2023, from 50.8% in March 2023, whilst non-food-inflation declined to 35.4% in April 2023, from 35.4% in March 2023.

Also, inflation for locally produced items stood at 38.2%, whereas inflation for imported items was 43.1%.

Five groups recorded inflation higher than the national average. They were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (59.0%); Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance ( 56.3%); Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages ((48.7%); Personal Care, Social Protections and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (48.5%) and Transport (42.5%).

Volta region records lowest inflation of 28%

The Volta region continued to record the lowest inflation among the the regions. It recorded 28.0% year-on-year inflation in April 2023.

On the other hand, the Western North region registered the highest inflation of 64.0%

Ghana’s populous regions – Ashanti and Greater Accra recorded inflation of 31.3% and 39.1% respectively.

8 food items recorded inflation higher than overall food inflation

For food inflation, Tea and Related Products (82.3%); Cereals and Cereal Products (62.9%); Milk and Diary Products (61.8%); Fish and Other Sea Foods (58.3%); Sugar, Confectionary and Desserts (56.7%); Fruit and Vegetable Juices (55.2%); Oil and Fats (53.2%) and Water (49.6%) recorded year-on-year inflation higher than the overall food inflation.

For the month-on-month, inflation stood at 2.4% in April 2023. Food and Alcoholic Beverage however recorded the highest inflation of 4.3%, whilst non-food inflation was 0.7%.