Consumer inflation in Ghana has slowed for the fifth consecutive month, reaching its lowest level since February 2022 as inflationary pressures ease across the economy, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) reported on Wednesday.

Consumer inflation declined to 18.4% year-on-year in May, down from 21.2% in April, government statistician Alhassan Iddrisu announced at a press conference. He noted that the disinflation trend is expected to continue in the coming months.

“The inflation trend we are witnessing shows sustained deceleration,” Iddrisu stated, highlighting that food remains a key inflation driver. However, the sharper drop in non-food inflation indicates a broader easing of price pressures across various sectors.

“This trend underscores the effectiveness of recent monetary and fiscal measures, the recent appreciation of the Cedi against the major international currencies, favourable external price dynamics and positive market sentiment,” he added.

Producer price inflation also slowed, dropping to 18.5% in April from 24.4% in March. Last month, the Bank of Ghana maintained its main interest rate at 28.0%, keeping a tight monetary stance in response to continued inflationary pressures.

Despite these positive trends, Ghana’s inflation remains well above the central bank’s target of 8%, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

The country is recovering from its worst economic crisis in decades, exacerbated by disruptions in the cocoa and gold sectors.

Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson, in his March budget speech, assured that strict spending cuts would help further reduce inflation to 11.9% by the end of the year.

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