The International Monetary Fund has blamed Ghana’s high inflation on internal issues.
This refutes the idea that the country’s inflation is caused by foreign forces such as the Russian/Ukraine situation, which has driven up the prices of some products, particularly wheat and grains.
In a press conference at the recent IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, African Director at the Fund Abebe Selassie stated that the Fund’s analysis shows that local causes drive inflation more than exogenous factors.
“On inflation, I mean, again, there are always trade-offs when you’re doing, policy calibration, and so in our regional economic outlook, we are very careful to flag that there are some countries where inflation has clearly been driven more by domestic factors than exogenous factors. I think Ghana would fall in that camp.”
“But there are also quite a lot of other countries where the inflation we are seeing is more imported inflation, so the scope and the space and the ability of monetary policy to address that is limited. So again, it depends on country-specific circumstances, and on time”.
Mr. Abebe further stated that monetary policy must be constantly calibrated.
This is because the conditions that affect inflation are constantly changing, he says, adding, “exchange rates are fluctuating, commodity prices are moving, so it’s an area where calibration must be very carefully looked at as the months progress.” As a result, the Central Bank can state that you must be forward-thinking and data-driven, and our guidance is subject to those concerns.”
In September 2022, inflation reaches 37.2%.
Ghana’s inflation rate increased by 3.3% to 37.2% in September 2022.
According to the GSS, five categories saw higher-than-average inflation in September.
Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels (68.8%), Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance (51.1%), Transportation (48.6%), Personal Care, Social Protection, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (42.6%), and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (37.8%) were the top five.
