Producer inflation slips

...as miners face falling prices

Year-on-year inflation from the producer’s perspective was 10.2 percent in April 2013, 0.4 percentage points lower than that for March. 

The decline was driven mainly by mining and quarrying inflation, which slipped by 4 percentage points to 2.4 percent. The manufacturing sector recorded the highest year-on-year sub-group inflation rate of 14.4 percent while Utilities’ inflation was 1 percent.

Dr. Philomena Nyarko, acting Government Statistician, announcing the figures at a media briefing in Accra explained that the falling gold prices on the international market accounts for the index’s slide. The monthly producer inflation rate was -0.1 percent.

She said between April and July 2012, the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose steadily and thereafter fluctuated until December.

“From December 2012 to February 2013, the rate declined to 9.1 percent but increased steadily to 10.6 in March 2013, and subsequently declined to 10.2 in April.”

Dr. Nyarko said the manufacturing subsector recorded the highest year-on-year producer inflation rate of 14.4 percent, up from 14.1 percent in March. Manufacturing contributes up to two-thirds of the producer inflation basket.

Head of Industrial Statistics at the Ghana Statistical Service, Anthony Kraka, confirmed that global commodity price fluctuation contributed to the fall.

“This was largely because the world price of gold decreased, pushing the mining index upwards.” Gold prices have dropped by 18 percent this year.