August 2023 inflation drops to 40.1%

Year-on-year inflation for the month of August 2023 has dipped by 3 percentage points to 40.1%, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed.

Presenting the CPI report for the month, the GSS attributed the decrease in inflation rate to a fall in both food and non-food inflation.

Food inflation fell to 51.27% from 55.0% in July 2023, while non-food inflation stood at 30.9% from 33.8%.

However, inflation for locally produced items rose to 42.4% from 37.5% in July 2023, the second rise in two consecutive months.

Surprisingly, imported inflation decreased significantly from 45.7% to 36.2%. The increase in the cost of imported products has been on a rising trend since April 2023.

According to the report, inflation attributable to food and non-alcoholic drinks increased slightly from 54.5% in the previous month to 55.1%. Transportation stayed at 6.9% of the total, while 10.8% went to housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, reflecting a slight decrease from 11.3% in July 2023.

The North East maintained its position as the region with the highest inflation rate for August 2023 (60.1%), followed by the Eastern (49.9%) and Western regions (49.7%). On the other hand, Greater Accra recorded the lowest regional inflation rate of 31.8%.