Ghana's Q1 2016 GDP grows at 4.9%

Ghana's unadjusted gross domestic product growth rose to 4.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016 compared with a revised 4.5 percent in the corresponding period last year, the statistics office said on Wednesday.

Ghana's GDP growth has slowed in the last two years due to lower commodity prices and a fiscal crisis that has forced the country to sign a three-year aid deal with the International Monetary Fund.

The government has projected that growth will recover to 5.4 percent at the end of the year from 3.9 percent last year, based on the anticipated stream of revenue from additional petroleum resources. The International Monetary Fund puts end of year growth at 4.5 percent.

Ghana is expected to start production from the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme field in August, in addition to its flagship Jubilee wells. Both fields are operated by a consortium of firms led by Britain's Tullow Oil.

Government statistician Philomena Nyarko told reporters that mining and fishing subsectors of the economy contracted in the first three months while power, communication and water recorded double-digit growth year-on-year.

"We had significant shifts in the growth of the power sector as well as some components of the services group," Nyarko said, adding that Services grew most.

Ghana's annual producer inflation went up marginally to 11.3 percent in May from 11.2 percent the previous month, driven mainly by rising gold prices and a marginal depreciation of the local currency