Inflation drops to 23.2% in December 2023 …lowest in 13 months

 The country’s year-on-year inflation rate fell to 23.2 per cent in December 2023 from 26.4 per cent in November 2023, the lowest in thirteen months, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced.

After hitting 54.1 per cent in December 2022, the country’s inflation rate had been falling to the current rate of 23.2 per cent.

The December 2023 inflation rate represents a 3.2 percetage point decrease relative to the rate recorded in November 2023 (26.4 per cent).

Month-on-month inflation between November 2023 (1.5 per cent) and December 2023 was 1.2 per cent.

The Government Statistician, Professor Samuel K. Annim, addressing a news conference in Accra yesterday to announce the December 2023 Consumer Price Index and Inflation, said food inflation drove the December inflation rate of 23.2 per cent.

Food inflation, he said, re­corded a sharp drop to 28.7 per cent in December 2023 from 32.2 per cent in November 2023, with month-on-month inflation rate of 1.3 per cent.

Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, with inflation rate of 33.8 per cent, ready-made food and other food products (27.8 per cent), cereal and other cereal products (24.3 per cent), fish and other seafood (32.5 per cent) drove the food inflation.

The Government Statistician said sea fish, smoked herrings, fresh tomatoes, bread, yam and fried plantain and beans were among the top twenty products that recorded upward hikes in inflation rates in most of the months last year.

Government Statistician said inflation for locally produced items fell to 23.8 per cent in De­cember 2023 from 26.1 per cent in November 2023.

Prof. Annim said inflation for imported items also dropped sharply from 27.1 per cent in November 2023 to 21.9 per cent in December.

He said alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics (38.2 per cent), personal care, social pro­tection and miscellaneous goods and services (31.2 per cent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (28.7 per cent), restaurants and accommodation services (28.0 per cent), furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (26.9 per cent) and recreation, sports and culture (24.9 per cent) recorded inflation rates above the national average of 23.2 per cent.

“Health (23.0 per cent), cloth­ing and footwear (22.3 per cent), housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (19.5 per cent), infor­mation and communication (14.2 per cent), education services (13.9 per cent), insurance and fi­nancial services (8.1 per cent) and transport (4.4 per cent) recorded inflation rates below the national average,” Prof. Annim stated.

On regional inflation, the Government Statistician said Greater Accra Region (16.0 per cent) recorded the lowest rate of inflation with Western Region (34.3 per cent) recording the highest rate of inflation.

BY KINGSLEY ASARE

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