Inflation records 15.3%

• Posted on August 14, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The year-on-year inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) was 15.3 percent in July 2014 slightly up from the 15.0 percent recorded in June 2014.

The rate for July 2014 entails the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the 12-month period from July 2013 to July 2014.

The monthly change rate, which was 1.6 percent for July 2014, was almost the same as that recorded for June 2014.

Dr Philomena Nyarko, Government Statistician, who disclosed this to the media in Accra yesterday, mentioned that the food and non-alcoholic beverage group recorded an average year-on-year inflation rate of 5.0 percent, 2.9 percentage points lower than that of June 2014.

She noted that eight sub-groups of the food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded inflation rates above the group’s average of 5.0 percent while the non-food group recorded an average year-on-year inflation rate of 23.1 percent in July 2014 compared to a rate of 20.3 percent recorded in June 2014.

Two subgroups recorded year-on-year inflation rates above the group’s average rate.

Utilities

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded the highest rate of 62.0 percent followed by transport which recorded 38.3 percent. Inflation was lowest in the education sub-group (3.2 percent).

Regional differentials

The year-on-year inflation rate ranged from 11.2 percent in the Volta Region to 21.1 per cent in the Northern Region.

Four regions- Upper East, Northern, Eastern and Central- recorded inflation rates above the national average of 15.3 percent.

By Samuel Boadi