Inflation closes at 18.31%

Story: Boahene Asamoah & Sahadatu Atintande

THE Consumer Price Index which measures the rate of price increases over time has for the first time this year shown a marginal sign of decline.
The rate fell by 0.1 percentage points from 18.41 in June to 18.31 per cent for the July figure.
Announcing the figures for this month, the Deputy Government Statistician, Prof Nicholas N.N. Nsowah-Nuamah, attributed the marginal decline in the inflation rate to the low prices of food.
The rate of inflation which had been rising since January this year had seen the figures increased from 12.8 per cent in January to 13.2 per cent in February and 13.8 per cent in March. In the month of April the rate went up to 15 .3 per cent while in May the rate stood at 16.88 per cent.The figures for June closed at 18.41 per cent.
Prof Nsowah-Nuamah said the rate continued to be higher for the non-food group than for the food group.
He said the non-food group which was 14.40 per cent in January this year increased to 18.97 per cent in July and contributed 2.59 percentage points higher than that of the food group.
The Deputy Government Statistician did not rule out the government’s policy intervention announced in May as a result of soaring food prices as a factor in the lower prices of the food component of the index.
He said the monthly changes in the CPI from the previous month to the present recorded a rate of 1.08 per cent in July this year, which is the lowest monthly rate since January.
Prof Nsowah-Nuamah added that the change in the monthly inflation rate increased from 1.17 per cent to 3.20 per cent between January and May, and declined in June at a rate of 2.06 per cent.
On the regional inflation figures he said Ashanti Region recorded the lowest inflation rate of 12.96 per cent, while the Central Region recorded the highest rate of 27.95 per cent with six regions recording inflation rates above the 18.31 per cent national rate.
“ The inflation rate in the rural areas is significantly higher at 23.77 per cent than the urban areas which records an inflation rate of 13.68 per cent. This however, does not mean that prices of goods in rural areas are higher than in urban areas” he said.??????????