Producer prices eases further

The annual Producer Price Index (PPI) dropped 3.77 percentage points in February to 22.57 percent, down from the January 2010 figure of 26.34 percent.

PPI on monthly basis, February also recorded a drop of 0.24 percent, as compared to the drop of 1.38 percent between December 2009 and January 2010.

Explaining at a media conference in Accra, Mr. Ebo Duncan, Director of Economics and Industry Statistics Division of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicated that the drop in the PPI is expected to impact on the country’s Consumer Price Index, and consequently inflation in the coming months.

On specific industry basis, the manufacturing sector which controls 69.75 percent share of all industry, recorded the highest inflation rate of 28.15 percent but represented a fall of 17.12 percentage points from February 2009.

The mining and quarrying sector which controls 13.97 per cent of all industry share, fell from 37.48 percent to close at 24.48 percent over the period.The utilities sector recorded the least drop figure of 0.49 percent in February 2010 to close at 0.42 percent in February 2010.

Mr. Duncan said the figures show appreciable inflation was recorded in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products as against mined products.

“In the mining and quarrying sub-sector, mining of metal ores recorded the highest,” he said, adding that the relatively stable nature of the utilities sector accounted for its recording of the least inflation rate.