Ghana: Inflation declines to lowest level since September 2022 in August
Inflation eased to 40.1% in August, below July’s 43.1%. August’s result represented the weakest inflation rate since September 2022 and surprised markets to the downside. The decline was broad-based, with reduced price pressures recorded for food, transport, clothing and footwear as well as housing.
Meanwhile, annual average inflation rose to 45.0% in August (July: 44.6%).
Finally, consumer prices fell a seasonally adjusted 0.21% in August over the previous month, contrasting July’s 3.58% rise. This marked the weakest reading since March.
On the outlook for inflation, analysts at Goldman Sachs commented:
“The recent increase in global food and fuel prices and the dominance of food in Ghana’s CPI basket […] implies significant uncertainty regarding the disinflation process in the country. While we expect the base effects on food inflation to drive disinflation in Q4, our conviction in this view remains low pending further data. Nonetheless, the Bank of Ghana will likely view the decline in inflation as a welcome development, and this increases our confidence that the hiking cycle is now complete.”