{"id":13588,"date":"2026-11-04T13:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T13:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=13588"},"modified":"2026-11-04T13:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T13:35:11","slug":"inflation-rises-to-5-5-as-transport-services-costs-climb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=13588","title":{"rendered":"Inflation rises to 5.5% as transport, services costs climb"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ghana’s inflation climbed to 5.5 per cent in October, up from 5.2 per cent in September, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) said on Wednesday, November 4, the third monthly rise in a row.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The rise was driven by non-food items, led by transport, housing and utilities, rather than food. Food inflation slowed to 2.8 per cent from 4 per cent, while non-food inflation rose to 7.9 per cent from 6.2 per cent.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“In very simple language, of every one Ghana cedi price rise in October 2026, about 76 pesewas came from non-food items, and 24 pesewas came from food,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Inflation has now gone up every month since July, when it stood at 4.6 per cent. It reached 5 per cent in August and 5.2 per cent in September.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The October rate is still 2.5 percentage points lower than a year earlier, when inflation stood at 8 per cent.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Transport and services drive October inflation<\/section>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Services inflation jumped to 11.5 per cent from 8.3 per cent. Goods inflation eased to 3.8 per cent from 4.2 per cent.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Services are now rising about three times as fast as goods,” Dr Iddrisu said.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Transport recorded the highest rate of the 13 spending divisions in the consumer basket, at 14.1 per cent, up from 5.7 per cent in September. Transport prices rose 8 per cent within the month alone.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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That jump followed the 8 per cent rise in lorry fares<\/a> that the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) agreed with the Ministry of Transport, which took effect on Saturday, September 26.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels was 10.5 per cent. That division was the single largest contributor to the headline rate, at 24.4 per cent.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 24.3 per cent and transport for 22.5 per cent. “Just these three divisions out of the 13 divisions contributed about 70% to October 2026 inflation,” Dr Iddrisu said.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Food prices fell in October<\/section>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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On a monthly basis, prices fell by 0.1 per cent between September and October, after rising 1.1 per cent the month before. Food prices dropped 2 per cent over the month.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Food inflation stood at 9.5 per cent in October 2025. At 2.8 per cent, it has fallen by more than two-thirds in a year.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Fresh tomatoes recorded the steepest annual price rise of any item, at 119.3 per cent. Shrimps followed at 88.8 per cent and ginger at 88.2 per cent.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Prices of parking space and related services rose 47.2 per cent, and mangoes 45.3 per cent.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Some staples are cheaper than a year ago. Guinea corn was down 28 per cent, maize 27.2 per cent, foreign apples 24.5 per cent and lime 23.7 per cent.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Local goods push up prices more than imports<\/section>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Inflation for locally produced items rose to 6.9 per cent from 6.4 per cent. Imported inflation was unchanged at 2.4 per cent.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Local items accounted for 86.4 per cent of October’s inflation.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Which regions have the highest inflation<\/section>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Ashanti had the highest regional rate, at 9.7 per cent. Eastern followed at 7.8 per cent, then Ahafo at 6.8 per cent and Central at 6.2 per cent.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Northern Region recorded the lowest rate, at minus 0.5 per cent. That means average prices there were lower than a year earlier.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Where you live actually changes what you pay. In other words, inflation is not the same everywhere in Ghana,” Dr Iddrisu said.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What 5.5% inflation means for interest rates<\/section>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The October figure remains below the Bank of Ghana’s medium-term target of 8 per cent, plus or minus 2 percentage points. The bottom of that band is 6 per cent.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held the policy rate at 14 per cent on Thursday, September 24, its third hold in a row.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In its September statement<\/a>, the committee said it expected inflation to move up into the band over the next few quarters.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It named rising ex-pump petroleum prices and their link to transport fares among the upside risks, along with higher utility tariffs and a stronger US dollar.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The MPC meets again from Monday, November 16, and will announce its decision on Wednesday, November 18.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What comes next: the 2027 Budget<\/section>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson is due to present the 2027 Budget<\/a> to Parliament on Thursday, November 12. It will set out the government’s growth and inflation targets for next year.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Dr Iddrisu said the regional and item-level breakdowns should help families budget, help firms price their costs and help government target support where prices are rising fastest.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Ghana’s inflation climbed to 5.5 per cent in October, up from 5.2 per cent in September, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) said on Wednesday, November 4, the third monthly rise in a row. The rise was driven by non-food items, led by transport, housing and utilities, rather than food. Food inflation slowed to 2.8 per…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t