The rate represents a 2.7 percentage point increase in producer inflation relative to the rate recorded in March 2018. “The month-on-month change in the producer price index between March 2018 and April 2018 was 0.9 per cent,” Mr Baah Wadieh, the Acting Government Statistician for the Ghana Statistical Service, announced at a press conference in Accra.

Mr Wadieh said the rise in the rate was due to the increase in all the three major sub-sectors of industry, that is mining and quarrying, manufacturing and utilities.  He said the Mining and Quarrying sub-sector recorded the highest year-on-year producer price inflation rate of 10.3 per cent, followed by the Manufacturing sub-sector with 7.2 per cent.

The Utility sub-sector recorded the lowest year-on-year producer inflation of -0.3 per cent. With respect to the monthly changes, Mr Wadieh said the Manufacturing recorded the highest inflation rate of 1.2 per cent, followed by the Mining and quarrying sub-sector with 0.7 per cent.

 However, the utilities sub-sector recorded no change.

Explaining the trends, Mr Wadieh observed that in April 2017, the Producer Price Inflation rate for all industry was 4.4 per cent, and that the rate declined consistently to record 2.0 per cent in July 2017. Subsequently it increased consistently to record 8.3 per cent in October 2017 but declined to 7.1 per cent in November 2017.

In December 2017, the rate increased to 8.7 per cent but decreased consistently to record 5.5 per cent in February 2018.In March 2018, the rate decreased again to 3.7 per cent but increased to 6.4 per cent in April 2018.
 

By Kodjo Adams/Emmanuel Kwame Donkor, GNA