Ghana's inflation rate rises to 40.4% in October amid hike in food prices
- Ghana's inflation rate rose for the month of October to stand at 40.4%
- The inflation is a reflection of the high cost of food and other services in the West African country
- The economic woes have sparked a series of protests calling for the resignation of the president and the sack of the Finance minister
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Ghana's inflation rate rose to 40.4% in October 2022 with the cost of goods and services surging higher amid an economic crisis.
The new rate reflects an increase from 37.2% registered in September, marking a new 21-year high. The last time the rate was above October's level was in July 2001 at 40.51% and it goes way above the country's central bank's target band of 6-10%.
The new inflation rate increase adds to the worry regarding the slide in the country's currency which has led to calls by the opposition for the sack of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
Source: Getty Images
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Major drivers of Ghana's inflation
According to Ghana's statistics agency, Food inflation rose from 37.8% in September to 43.7% in October, spiked by the increase in the cost of items such as sugar, milk, eggs and water.
The report also stated that non-food inflation jumped from 36.8% in the previous month to 37.8% in October, as consumer prices rose by 2.7%.
Inflation rate for locally produced items is confirmed at 39.1% compared to 43.7% for currency-induced imported items, suggesting lower prices for locally-made products
The spike in the inflation rate was majorly pushed in sectors including electricity, gas, transport, water, housing, Furnishing and household equipment.
Ghana's Cedi becomes the worst currency in the world
Ghana's cedi, emerged as the worst-performing currency in the world in October, according to World Bank, slumping 57% in value since January 2022.
The poor performance of the cedi against the dollar makes it the worst among 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg. According to Bloomberg, the Ghanaian cedi depreciated 0.8% against the dollar to about 14.5000 in the country's capital, Accra on Wednesday, November 9, 2022.
With the latest ranking, the Ghanaian cedi relegates the Sri Lankan rupee to the position of second worst performer after it plummeted nearly 45% against the US dollar amid the socio-economic crisis.
Other African currencies that are also struggling against the US dollar include South Africa's rand and Nigeria's naira.
Ghana moves to obtain $3 million loan from IMF
The Ghanaian government has announced plans to obtain a $3 million loan from the International Monetary (IMF) over three years in a bid to stabilize the balance of payments.
The government of the West African nation hopes to restore macroeconomic stability amid surging inflation and price hikes which have forced a series of protests calling for the resignation of President Nana Akufo-Addo and the sack of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
Source: Legit.ng
