Inflation for the month of April went up to 10.6 percent. This is 0.2 percentage points higher than the previous month’s figure of 10.4 percent. This means that the rate of increase in the general price of goods and services was higher compared to the same period last year. The monthly rate change was however 1.8 percent. Acting Deputy Government Statistician in charge of Technical support, Baah Wadieh explains what accounted for the increase. “The farming season starts in April. There are no harvests. Whatever is available we are committing to planting for food and because the weight of the food group in the basket is high, it impacts on the overall inflation rate. We also observed that the exchange rate is also affecting the cost of imported goods” he explained. The declining fortunes of the local currency seem to be impacting heavily on the macro-economy. Even before the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central bank meets next week to determine the policy rate, Standard Chartered bank is predicting an increase in the rate due to the cedi’s fall in value.