ACCRA, April 16 (BERNAMA-NNN-GNA) — Ghana’s inflation rate rose to 16.6 per cent in March this year, up by 0.1 percentage point from 16.5 per cent recorded in February, the Ghana Statistical Service has announced.
Deputy Government Statistician Baah Wadieh, who announced this at a media briefing here Wednesday, said the monthly rate of change for March was 1.0 per cent compared to 1.2 per cent recorded for February 2015.
Wadieh said food inflation in March was 7.2 per cent compared with 7.0 per cent in February. Non-food inflation for March stood at 23.1 per cent, up marginally from 23.0 per cent recorded in February.
“The year-on-year non-food inflation rate is more than three times higher than the food inflation rate,” Wadieh said, adding that inflation for imported items which was 21.3 per cent was about one and half times higher than the inflation rate for locally produced items at 14.9 per cent.
He said the main drivers for the non-food inflation were housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which stood at 26.2 per cent and transport at 25.8 per cent. The price drivers for the food inflation were coffee, tea and cocoa, mineral water, soft drinks, fruits and vegetable juices, among others.
Central Region (Province) recorded the highest regional inflation rate of 19.2 per cent, while Brong-Ahafo Region recorded the lowest rate of 14.3 per cent.
Three regions, namely the Central, Volta and Ashanti, recorded inflation rates above the national average of 16.6 per cent.
Source: GNA
