Ghana’s inflation rises to 5.5% in October as services and non-food prices increase

Ghana’s year-on-year inflation rate edged up to 5.5% in October 2026, reversing the decline recorded in September, as rising costs in the non-food and services sectors outweighed a slowdown in food price increases.

The latest figures from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) show that headline inflation increased by 0.3 percentage points from the 5.2% recorded in September.

Despite the latest increase, the rate remains significantly below the 8% recorded in October 2025, representing a year-on-year decline of 2.5 percentage points.

The figures point to changing inflationary pressures within the economy, with food prices becoming less of a major contributor while costs associated with other goods and services continue to rise.

Food inflation declined to 2.8% in October from 4% in the previous month. However, non-food inflation increased from 6.2% to 7.9%, while services inflation recorded a sharper rise, moving from 8.3% in September to 11.5%.

The increase in services inflation suggests growing cost pressures in areas such as transport, housing-related services and other household expenses, potentially placing additional pressure on consumers despite the moderation in food prices.

Locally produced goods drive domestic price pressures

A breakdown of inflation by the origin of goods also shows that prices of locally produced items increased at a faster rate than those of imported products.

Inflation for locally produced goods rose to 6.9% in October, compared with 6.4% in September.

Imported goods, on the other hand, maintained an inflation rate of 2.4%, unchanged from the previous month.

The figures indicate that domestic price pressures remain more pronounced, with the relatively stable inflation rate for imported products yet to translate into similar moderation across locally manufactured and produced items.

Consumer prices record monthly decline

Although annual inflation increased in October, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded a 0.1% month-on-month decline, contrasting with the 1.1% increase registered in September.

The reduction was largely driven by a 2% fall in food prices during the month.

The latest figures highlight the distinction between annual inflation, which measures changes in prices over 12 months, and month-on-month inflation, which tracks price movements between consecutive months.