Ghana Inflation Dips Close to Target as Rate Falls 3rd Month

(Bloomberg) -- Ghana’s inflation rate dropped for a third straight month in October, inching closer to the central bank’s target range.

Annual consumer inflation slowed to 10.1% from 10.4% in September, Samuel Kobina Annim, the government statistician, told reporters Wednesday in Accra, the capital. The median estimate of three economists in a Bloomberg survey was 10.3%. Prices climbed 0.2% in the month.

Key Insights

• The slowdown means the central bank’s monetary policy committee could keep the key interest rate unchanged again when it meets in two weeks. The Bank of Ghana held the benchmark at 14.5% for the third straight meeting in September, saying it expects inflation to be back inside the target band of 6% to 10% by the second quarter of next year.
• Food prices rose 12.6% in October from a year earlier, compared with 11.2% in September, and costs increased by 0.1% on a monthly basis.
• Housing, electricity and transportation were the main drivers behind the drop in the inflation rate, the statistics agency said.

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