The annual inflation rate in Ghana rose to 9.4 percent in July of 2019 from 9.1 percent in the previous month, driven by prices of both food and non-food products.

Year-on-year , prices advanced at a faster clip for food & non-alcoholic beverages (6.6 percent vs 6.5 percent in June), namely vegetables (8.4 percent vs 8.2 percent); fruits (11 percent vs 10.7 percent); cereals & cereal products (5.4 percent vs 4.8 percent); sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery (7 percent vs 6.4 percent); milk, cheese & eggs (4.1 percent vs 3.3 percent); meat & meat products (8.6 percent vs 8.1 percent) and fish and sea food (5.8 percent vs 5.4 percent).

In addition, cost rose further for non-food products (10.4 percent vs 10.3 percent), mainly pushed up by housing & utilities (9.8 percent vs 6.8 percent); hotels, cafes & restaurants (9.9 percent vs 9.5 percent); education (6.4 percent vs 6.2 percent); communications (7.6 percent vs 6.9 percent); health (7.9 percent vs 7.5 percent) and alcoholic beverages & tobacco (10.3 percent vs 9.9 percent). Meantime, inflation was steady for transport (at 6.9 percent) and furnishings (at 14.6 percent).

On the other hand, prices slowed slightly for clothing & footwear (14.9 percent vs 15.2 percent); miscellaneous goods & services (11.2 percent vs 11.3 percent) and recreation & culture (14.8 percent vs 15 percent).

On a monthly basis , consumer prices went up 0.6 percent, following a 0.8 percent rise in the prior month. It was the lowest monthly inflation rate since September last year.

Credit: Trading economics

(By Luisa Carvalho)