Rise in inflation in Ghana, Nigeria will hinder economic growth – Deloitte

Professional services firm, De­loitte, has reiterated that the persistent rise in inflation in Ghana and Nigeria will hinder economic growth.

This is because businesses are experiencing increased costs, whilst consumers are cutting back on spending.

In its inflation update, Deloitte West Africa said, “The underly­ing inflation pressures, driven by food price volatility, exchange rate fluctuations and global commodity prices, are expected to persist in 2025.”

To this end, the firm believed that monetary policy was expected to continue in Nigeria.

At the same time, it said the Bank of Ghana was likely to main­tain the status quo with a possible rate hike if inflation continues to rise.

Rising food prices pushed Ghana’s inflation higher to 23.8 per cent in December 2024, the 4th consecutive increase.

Nigeria’s headline inflation lso surged to 34.80 per cent on festive-related spending.

Meanwhile, the Economist Intelligent Unit is forecasting an average inflation rate of 27.7 per cent and 15.5 per cent for Nigeria and Ghana respectively in 2025.

It further stated that infla­tionary pressures are expected to ease from the more elevated levels recorded in 2023 for all but a small handful of African countries including Seychelles and Sudan.

“Inflationary pressures are expected to ease from the more elevated levels recorded in 2023 for all but a small handful of Afri­can countries—namely Angola, Seychelles, Sudan and Tanzania, where country-specific factors will push up consumer price inflation,” it said.

 BY KINGSLEY ASARE

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