Inflation rises to 3.4% in April
Ghana’s headline inflation rate inched up to 3.4 per cent in April 2026 from 3.2 per cent in March, driven largely by rising non-food prices despite continued easing in food inflation, according to the Ghana Statistical Service.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation rose sharply to 1.0 per cent, compared to just 0.1 per cent recorded in March, indicating a faster build-up of price pressures during the period.
The latest data shows a widening gap between food and non-food inflation. Food inflation continued to ease slightly, declining to 2.2 per cent in April from 2.3 per cent in March, providing some stability for household food costs. In contrast, non-food inflation climbed to 4.2 per cent from 3.9 per cent, driven by increases in housing, transport, recreation, and household services.
Month-on-month figures reflect a similar trend. Food prices rose by 0.8 per cent in April after declining by 0.3 per cent in March, while non-food prices increased by 1.1 per cent, up from 0.3 per cent in the previous month, pointing to stronger cost pressures outside the food sector.
The report also highlights differences between locally produced and imported goods. Inflation for locally produced items eased slightly to 4.7 per cent year-on-year from 4.9 per cent. However, imported items saw a marginal rise to 0.7 per cent from 0.5 per cent, suggesting that external price pressures and exchange rate movements may be beginning to influence domestic prices.
On a monthly basis, imported goods recorded a sharp increase of 1.5 per cent in April after a 0.2 per cent decline in March, while locally produced items rose by 0.7 per cent, up from 0.5 per cent.
A breakdown by category shows that goods inflation rose to 1.1 per cent year-on-year from negative 1.0 per cent in March, reflecting base effects, while services inflation surged to 9.6 per cent from 7.2 per cent, indicating persistent increases in the cost of services such as education, healthcare, and transport.
Month-on-month, goods prices rose by 0.4 per cent, unchanged from March, while services prices increased by 0.7 per cent after declining by 1.0 per cent in the previous month.
Regional data points to significant disparities. The Savannah Region recorded the highest inflation rate at 9.5 per cent, well above the national average, while the North East Region recorded the lowest at minus 3.5 per cent, indicating an overall decline in prices in that area.
The gap between the highest and lowest regional inflation rates widened to 13 percentage points, underscoring the uneven distribution of price movements across the country.