Producer inflation drops to 5%

July producer inflation fell by 2 percentage points to 5 percent, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) said on Wednesday.

The month-on-month change was -0.5 percent, with manufacturing inflation rising from 10.6 percent to 10.9 percent on year-on-year basis.

Mining and quarrying inflation, held down by the slump in gold prices, dropped to -13.1 percent from -1.4 percent in June. Utilities inflation decreased from 0.59 percent to 0.2 percent.

Speaking at a media conference in Accra, acting Government Statistician Dr. Philomena Nyarko said the recent power crisis, which lasted from September 2012 to July 2013, affected domestic manufacturing.

She said during the 12-month period from July 2012 to July 2013, the highest year-on-year producer inflation rate of 19.1 percent was recorded in October 2012 and the lowest figure of 5 percent in July 2013.

Manufacturing sector

During the month of July 2013, eight out of the sixteen major groups in the manufacturing sub-sector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 10.9 percent.

Manufacture of furniture recorded the highest inflation rate of 32.2 percent, while producer prices in the manufacture of electrical machinery and apparatus recorded the lowest inflation rate of -5.6 percent.

Petroleum price

Between July 2012 and December 2012, the inflation rate in the petroleum sub-sector remained relatively stable. However, it dropped in January 2013 and subsequently rose in March 2013.

The rate remained unchanged in April 2013, but thereafter increased steadily to 19.3 percent in June 2103. In July 2013, the rate declined to 18.5 percent due to slight declines in the prices of marine gas oil and aviation fuel.