PPI For July is 10.6%

Government Statistician, Dr. Philomena Nyarko, has announced a dropped in the monthly Producer Price Inflation (PPI) from June record of 23.1% to10.6%.

The 12.5 percentage difference between the previous record and the recent figure was actualized by the Cedi appreciation last month.

She added that the low record of gold prices in July contributed to the decline in the price index.

The year-on-year inflation rate in the mining and quarrying sub-sector recorded lowest of 1.5%, while manufacturing sub-sector traced 13.5%, the highest year-on-year producer price inflation rate followed by the utilities sub-sector with 7.3%.

From July 2014, the producer price inflation began an upward trend to record 48.6 percent in August 2014. However, the rate consistently declined to 19.2 % in March 2015 and shuffled up to record 19.5 % in April, 2015 and then declined again to 18.8 percent in May 2015.

It, however, increased in June 2015 to record 23.1 percent. In July 2015, the rate declined again to 10.6 %.

Petroleum price index

The inflation rate in the petroleum sub-sector was 77.3 % in July 2014 and thereafter fluctuated until November, 2014 when it recorded a rate of 61.1 %.

Subsequently, the rate steadily declined to record -8.7 % in March 2015 and -9.6 % in May 2015 because of base drift effect and the decrease in ex-refinery prices of petroleum products.

The rate, however, increased in June 2015 to record -0.01 percent as a result of the increase in petroleum prices but decreased to -6.4 % in July 2015 due to base drift effect.

Manufacturing sector

In July 2015, nine out of the 16 major groups in the manufacturing sub-sector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 13.5%.

Manufacture of textiles recorded the highest inflation rate of 49.0 % while the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers recorded the lowest producer price inflation rate of -11.9%.

The monthly changes in the producer price index indicated that manufacturing recorded the highest inflation rate of 3.1 percent, followed by the utilities sub-sector with 0.1%. The mining and quarrying sub-sector recorded the lowest producer inflation rate of -18.3 %.