Annual inflation eased to 18.37 per cent in
September from 19.65 per cent in August, the Ghana Statistical Service said
on Friday.
At a press conference to release the rate, Mr Sylvester Gyamfi,
Assistant Chief Statistician, attributed the decrease to lower food prices
usually experienced during August to October.
The figure represents a decline of 1.28 percentage points from 19.65
per cent for August.
"The fall in the inflation rate follows the trend of the full cycle of
the harvest season usually experienced from August to October," said Mr
Sylvester Gyamfi.
The non-food group registered an inflation of 22.38 per cent as against
12.78 per cent for the food group.
Trends from the past three years indicate that August, September and
October are usually periods of declining inflation.
Mr Gyamfi, however, could not predict the rate for November and
December, saying the rate might go down during the last two months if food
prices hold out.
Government is projecting an end of year inflation of 14.5 per cent but
the Centre for Economic Policy Analysis is forecasting 20.5 per cent
inflation at the close of the year.
Eastern Region registered the lowest inflation of 14.10 per cent while
the Central Region recorded the highest of 27.61 per cent. The urban and
rural inflation for September was 20.41 and 17.92 per cent respectively.