The Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, presented the latest Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) data today in Accra, revealing a notable slowdown in the inflation rate by 3.2 percentage points.
Inflation decreased to 23.2 per cent in December 2023, down from 26.4 per cent in November 2023. The year-on-year inflation drop marks the fifth consecutive month of decline.
Key highlights from Professor Annim’s presentation include a month-on-month inflation of 1.2 per cent, signalling a 0.3 percentage points downward shift between November and December 2023. Notably, the year-on-year difference between Food inflation (28.7%) and Non-food (18.7%) stands at 10.0 percentage points.
The report details a 3.5 percentage points reduction in Year-on-Year Food Inflation between November and December 2023, with Non-food inflation decreasing by 3.0 percentage points during the same period. Interestingly, Month-on-Month food inflation (1.3%) was slightly higher than non-food inflation (1.0%) in December 2023.
Inflation for locally produced items (23.8%) exceeded that of imported items (21.9%) by 1.9 percentage points. Notably, the steep drop in food inflation observed in November 2023 slowed down to a 3.5 percentage point decrease in December 2023. Non-food inflation also continued its slowdown for the fifth consecutive month, reaching 18.7 per cent.
An analysis of divisions reveals that six recorded inflation rates higher than the national average (23.2%), led by Alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and narcotics (38.2%). In contrast, Transport (4.4%) recorded the lowest rate of inflation.
In terms of month-on-month rates, Alcoholic beverage, tobacco, and narcotics (2.8%) recorded the highest, while Transport inflation (-0.1%) saw the lowest. Seven divisions recorded rates higher than the national monthly inflation of 1.2 per cent, with Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages remaining the major driver, holding a share of more than half (52.6%).
Focusing on food inflation on a year-on-year basis (28.7%), the Eastern Region recorded the highest rate at 35.9%, while Greater Accra Region (16.0%) had the lowest. The Eastern Region also saw the highest food inflation (51.3%), more than 2.5 times the rate for Upper East Region (18.8%), the lowest.
Source: graphic.com.gh
