Accra, Aug. 25, GNA - The Annual Producer Price Index (PPI) dropped by 0.46 percentage points in July, bringing the respective yearly change between July 2009 and July 2010 to 18.93 per cent, up from 19.39 per cent.

This brings the monthly change rate between June and July 2010 to -0.14 per cent compared to 10.38 recorded between May and June 2010.

Mr Magnus Ebo Duncan, Head of Economics and Industry Statistics at Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) who announced the figures at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, said the annual PPI for July 2010 was higher than the rate recorded in the same period in 2009 which stood at 16.09 per cent.

"The all industry year-on-year average inflation for the first seven months of 2010 was 19.85 per cent," he said.

On specific industry basis, the manufacturing sector, which controls 69.75 per cent shares of all industry, recorded the lowest annual inflation rate for the period closing at 7.56 per cent, higher than that for the previous month which stood at 0.16 per cent.

The mining and quarrying sector, which controls 13.97 per cent shares of all industry, recorded an annual inflation rate of 19.19 per cent as against 3.02 per cent recorded in June.

The utilities sector, which includes production, transmission and distribution of electricity, collection and distribution of water, recorded the highest annual inflation rate during the period (July) closing at 71.09, up from 71.38 per cent recorded in June.

The monthly rate recorded by the manufacturing sector is -0.18, mining and quarrying -1.32 and the utility sector -0.01 in July 2010.

Mr Duncan said depending on the volume of consumption, the recent reduction on utility tariffs might result in a downward trend of the rate of inflation in the sector.

The PPI measures the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers for the production of their goods and services.