Ghana’s inflation rate for August 2024 has decreased to 20.4%, down from 20.9% in July, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline.
This downward trend began in March, when the inflation rate was 25.8%, and has continued to ease each month since then.
According to Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, the government Statistician, the drop in inflation is attributed to a decline in food inflation, which fell to 19.1% in August.
Non-food inflation, on the other hand, rose to 21.5% in August, indicating a mixed bag of price movements.
On a regional basis, the Upper East Region recorded the highest inflation rate of 27.8%, while the Northeast Region had the lowest rate of 10.1%.
The data also showed that locally produced items had an inflation rate of 22.2%, compared to 16.1% for imported items.
Notably, month-on-month food inflation dropped to -0.7% in August, indicating a decrease in general price levels of goods and services between July and August 2024.
This decline is a positive sign for the economy, suggesting a slowdown in price increases, according to Prof. Annim.
However, he cautioned that prices are still rising, and efforts should be made to sustain the downward trend.
Overall, the data suggests a gradual easing of inflationary pressures, but still a long way to go to reach a stable and low inflation environment.
