Producer price inflation in Ghana eased to 30.4% in September 2024, down from 33.2% in August, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). This marks the first decrease after six consecutive months of rising inflation since February. On a monthly basis, producer price inflation rose by only 0.6%, a notable slowdown from the 2.7% increase in August.

Sector-wise, the Industry sector still led with a 43.0% inflation rate, slightly lower than August’s 44.6%. The Construction sector saw a modest rise to 23.2%, while Services dropped to 12.3% from 14.0%. Mining and Quarrying remained the highest contributor at 48.7%, down from 54.2% in August. The lowest inflation rates were recorded in Water Supply, Sewerage, and Waste Management (4.0%), Information and Communication (8.1%), and Electricity and Gas (10.4%).

The PPI measures the average change in the selling prices of goods and services from domestic producers. Despite the producer price level still being high, the 0.6% monthly rate is the lowest recorded since December 2023. This would be a welcome sign for the Bank of Ghana (BoG) which was blindsided by an unexpected rise in consumer inflation after six months of decline.