Inflation for the month of April 2016 sharply declined to 18.7 percent compared with the 19.2 percent recorded in March 2016.
The monthly change rate in April 2016 was 1.4 percent while that of March 2016 was 1.7 percent.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service, non food inflation, utility prices, transport and education accounted for the decrease.The year – on – year non – food inflation rate for April decreased from 25.7 % in March to 24.8 percent.
The consumer price index measures the change over time in the general price levels of goods and services that households require for the purpose of consumption.
Deputy Government Statistician, at the Ghana Statistical Service Baah Wadieh explained to Citi Business News what accounted for the decline in inflation.
‘ Once you see a positive figure for inflation, it should tell you that prices are still going up. But what we are telling you through these figures is that the rate at which the prices are changing or are going high has slowed a little, compared to the previous. However, it is more of a base rather than a price fix.
Because the price that you observe in the previous month March is the same price that we are observing in April. But the base effect, the price level or the index recorded in the same time the previous year is what is influencing the figure’.
The year on year food inflation rate for April 2016 was 8.8 percent compared with the 8.3 percent recorded in March 2016.
The main price drivers for the non-food inflation rate were recreation and culture (28.1%), education (30.9%), transport (40.4%) and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (35.8%).
Greater Accra region recorded the highest year on year inflation rate of 22.0 percent followed by the Ashanti region with 20.3 percent while the Upper East Region recorded the lowest inflation rate of 13.9 percent.
According to Deputy Government Statistician, at the Ghana Statistical Service Baah Wadieh, ‘this is the consumer price, the consumer inflation. That is the inflation rate that is being recorded through the consumer pricing. If we decide to this aggregate to say electricity separately, into water separately, into gas separately, and into other fuel separately, you may see a different picture. But this is an average for the group that we are recording.
So we can decide to this aggregate for you to know the micro inflation, with respect to this group. And it will tell you that it is not that uniform like we are saying’.
By: Norvan Acquah – Hayford
