Due to rising food prices, Ghana’s inflation rate rose to 43.1% in July, the highest level in four months. This puts additional pressure on the central bank to keep raising interest rates in the upcoming month.
Samuel Kobina Annim, the government statistician, reported that the annual inflation rate increased from 42.5% in June to 43.1%.
This was higher than the median estimate of 42% offered by five economists in a Bloomberg survey, marking the highest level since March.
Important Inflation Drivers
Annim pointed out that increased food prices were the main cause of the inflationary spike.
Inflation for food increased from 54.2% to 55% in the previous month, and for non-food items it increased from 33.4% to 33.8%. Prices rose 3.6% overall during the month.
Remember that the monetary policy committee of Ghana recently raised the nation’s benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 30%, citing the fact that price pressures were not subsiding quickly enough.
Since November 2021, this has caused the cumulative rate to rise to 16.5%.
According to experts, policymakers may feel inclined to implement another interest rate increase during their meeting scheduled for September 18–22 if this upward trend in inflation persists.
At 11:04 a.m. in Accra, the Ghanaian cedi was trading essentially unchanged at 11.1646 to the dollar. According to Bloomberg generic pricing, the country’s dollar bond that will mature in 2032 increased 0.2 cents to 45.1 cents on the dollar.
What you must understand
Ghana has been granted a $3 billion, three-year extended credit facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to the IMF, the program will assist Ghana in addressing its fiscal and debt vulnerabilities, foster job growth, improve social protection, and strengthen governance.