The consumer inflation for March 2018 has recorded a slight decrease to 10.6 percent, after it increased to 10.6 percent in February.
This represents a 0.2 percentage point drop for the period.
The consumer price index (CPI) measures the change over time in the general price level of goods and services that households acquire for the purpose of consumption.
Announcing the update for the month, the Acting Government Statistician, Baah Wadieh attributed the slight drop mainly to the decline in the inflation rate of items in the non-food category.
“We observed falls in the inflation rates for hotels, cafes and restaurants, miscellaneous group, recreation and culture, transport, household equipment and routine maintenance, clothing and footwear, health and furnishing and household equipment.”
The non-food for March recorded 11.8 percent compared with the rate of 12.2 percent recorded in February.
This represents more than one and half times that of the food inflation.
The food inflation rate for March was 7.3 percent compared with the rate of 7.2 percent recorded in February.
The price drivers for the food inflation rate were coffee, tea and cocoa, fruits, meat and meat products, minerals water, soft drinks, fruits and vegetable juices, vegetables and food products.
Five regions; Upper West, Brong Ahafo, Greater Accra, Ashanti And Western, recorded rates higher than the national average of 10.4 percent.
Upper West region recorded the highest inflation rate of 11.9 percent, followed by Brong Ahafo with 11.3 percent, while Upper East region recorded the lowest rate of 8.0 percent.
Inflation rate recorded for imported items in the month of March 11.8 percent, representing a 2.0 percentage points higher than that of locally produced items of 9.8 percent.
By Joshua W. Amlanu
