Ghana’s consumer inflation rate dropped from 35.6% in October to 26.4% in November according to the country’s statistics service. This represents a decline of 8.8% when compared to the previous month under review.
The Ghanaian Statistician-General stated that the sharp decline to a 19-month low was helped by favorable base-effect comparisons with the previous year and the central bank’s proactive implementation of monetary policy tightening.
The Bank of Ghana has maintained its benchmark policy rate at a historic high of 30% since July, marking a pause after implementing a cumulative tightening of 16.5 percentage points since November 2021.
Officials emphasize their commitment to maintaining a tight policy stance until inflationary pressures are securely managed.
Previously, they projected that inflation would conclude the year at 29%, a notable decrease from the peak of 54.1% recorded in December 2022.
According to the Ghana Statistics Service, (GSS), the sharp decline in the inflation rate is due to the drop in prices of food items such as vegetables, cereals, and fish.
The year-on-year food inflation stood at 32.2% while the non-food inflation rate was 21.7% for November.
Last month, the annual increase in the consumer price index reached 26.4%, following a 35.2% surge in October, as reported by government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim in Accra on Wednesday.
Ghana’s recent economic crisis
Despite this sharp drop in inflation figures, Ghana is currently facing its worst economic crisis in a generation as it negotiates with multilateral lenders and creditors to restructure its debt.
Year-on-year inflation reached 43.1% in July of this year as protests rocked the country’s capital over the high cost of living and the weakening of the Ghanaian cedi.
The Cedi lost about 11% of its value when compared to the USD in the first half of this year.
Last year, the government defaulted on its euro bond debt obligation.
