GSS to change inflation basket next year

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) will rebase the Consumer Price Index (CPI) used to calculate inflation and review the CPI basket to reflect changes in household expenditure patterns, Magnus Ebo Duncan, its head of economic statistics has told the B&FT.

The update of the index, to be implemented next year with 2012 as the base year, is a regular exercise conducted every five years and not informed by recent disputations about inflation figures published by the Service, he said. The current index uses 2002 as the base year.

“We are trying to make the basket accommodate current happenings. This is because expenditure patterns have changed and there are some items in the basket which have become obsolete.”

The new basket will comprise 272 commodities, up from the current basket’s composition of 242 items, after additions and subtractions were made. New weights will also be assigned to the commodities to reflect their relative importance in current household consumption.

Transport and communication costs are among items that will see higher weightings as they now make up a bigger share of household spending than previously.  

Mr. Duncan said the GSS arrived at the new basket and weights after studying the Ghana Living Standards Survey 5 (GLSS 5) and national accounts, and after broad consultations with the Bank of Ghana, the finance ministry and other stakeholder groups.

He said the collection of base-year price data began in January 2012 and will continue till the end of the year.

Source: B&FT