Producer Price Inflation up 23.14% in January

The year-on-year inflation from the producer’s perspective for all industry for January 2011 is 23.14%, a rise in the December, 2010 figure of 17.79 percent, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced.

“The ex-factory prices of goods for all industry on the average increased in January 2011 compared to January 2010 by 23.14 percent,” explained, Mr. Magnus Ebo Duncan, Head of Economic Statistics Division-GSS in Accra.

Utility recorded the highest year-on-year inflation of 71.81%, followed by mining and quarrying recording 25.99% and manufacturing having 11.41% during the period under review.

Manufacturing recorded the highest monthly change of 8.30%, followed by Utilities -0.01%, and Mining and quarrying the least, recording a negative change of -0.41%.

Mr. Duncan made this known in Accra at a media briefing to announce current Producer Price Inflation (PPI) data which measures inflation in the producers perspective.

The Producer Price Index measures the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers for the production of their goods and services.

He explained that there was a big jump in inflation in the petroleum industry in January after a decline in November last year. In January, inflation in the petroleum industry jumped to 23.39 per cent.

The all industry monthly inflation is 5.90 percent with specific industry such as mining and quarrying sector recording a monthly change of-0.41 per cent in January, while the manufacturing sector recorded 8.3 per cent followed by the utilities 0.01 per cent.

Mr. Duncan indicated that five out of the 16 major groups in the manufacturing sector recorded inflation rates higher than the manufacturing sector average of 11.41per cent.

Manufacture of electrical machinery and apparatus recorded the highest inflation rate 47.71 percent, whiles manufacture of wood, wood products and cork recorded negative inflation rate of 2.64 per cent.