General News of Wednesday, 19 October 2022

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Ghana's inflation now at 101% - Prof Steve Hanke challenges official rate of 37.2%

Professor Steve Hanke Professor Steve Hanke

Professor Steve Hanke, a professor of Applied Economics at the Johns Hopkins University, has indicated that per his tracking, Ghana's inflation is currently at 101 per cent. He made this disclosure while reacting to a Bloomberg report on Ghana's economy where it was stated that Ghana's inflation is currently at 37.2%, the official government figure which the American economist maintains is wrong. Prof Steve Hanke, who has been consistent in reporting Ghana's inflation figures indicated on his Twitter timeline that most media reports on the country's economy are "either wrong or irrelevant." Prof Hanke tweeted on Tuesday, October 18, "Bloomberg reports that #Ghana's inflation has hit 37.2%/yr in September—a 21-yr high. That's the official rate. It's WRONG. "Today, I measure Ghana's inflation at 101%/yr. Remember my 95% Rule: 95% of what you read in the press is either wrong or irrelevant."

Bloomberg reports that #Ghana's inflation has hit 37.2%/yr in September—a 21-yr high. That's the official rate. It's WRONG. Today, I measure Ghana's inflation at 101%/yr. Remember my 95% Rule: 95% of what you read in the press is either wrong or irrelevant.https://t.co/eHw3hg8dYp— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) October 18, 2022 Ghana’s inflation rate was 37.2% in September, the Ghana Statistical Service said, as it announced changes to the way it calculates the data. The local currency, the Ghana Cedi, is struggling. The Cedi has been reported by Bloomberg to be the world’s worst-performing currency this year as investors continued to squeeze foreign capital into the west African country before a deal with the International Monetary Fund. The currency of the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer depreciated as much as 3.3% Monday, before paring the loss to 11.2750 per dollar at 3:30 p.m. in the capital Accra. That took its losses this year to more than 45%, the most among 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg. PEN/SARA