Inflation for the month of April dropped marginally. The new rate is 18.7 percent, from the March figure of 19.2 percent.

The statistical service attributes the decline to the relative stability of prices of petroleum products and the local currency in the month under review.

The key drivers according to the Ghana Statistical Service were transport, water, electricity, gas and other fuels,  education, recreation, culture and clothing. 

Deputy Government Statistician Baah Wadie noted that the inflation rate for housing and rent alone recorded “a rate of 72 percent but what we are saying is, for this broad group of non-food items, we are giving an average figure for the group but the sub-components in that group can be disaggregated and the inflation for each sub-component can be produced.”

This was to address a question posed by JOY BUSINESS’ Kuuku Abban as to why the rate dropped by 0.5 percent in spite of the sharp increase in rent. 

Mr. Wadie added that “food inflation generally went from 8.3 percent to 8.4 percent and we realized that the key driver in the food group is vegetables where cassava and other vegetables belong.”

The monthly change rate in April 2016 was 1.4 percent while that for March 2016 was 1.7 percent.  The year-on-year   non-food inflation rate for April 2016 was 24.8 percent compared with the 25.7 percent recorded in March 2016.