Ex-Factory Prices Record 19.5%

Dr Philomena Nyarko, Government Statistician

The year-on-year producer inflation for all industry was 19.5 percent in April 2015 and the monthly inflation rate was 2.8 percent.

The mining and quarrying sub-sector recorded the highest year-on-year producer price inflation rate of 27.1 percent followed by the utilities sub-sector with 20.7 percent.

The manufacturing sub-sector recorded the lowest year-on-year inflation rate of 17.0 percent.

The monthly changes in the producer price index revealed that mining and quarrying recorded the highest inflation rate of 7.5 percent followed by the utilities sub-sector with 4.5 percent. The manufacturing sector recorded the lowest inflation rate of 1.0 percent.

Manufacturing, which constitutes more than two-thirds of total industry, decreased by 2.3 percentage points to record 17.0 percent.

The utilities sub-sector recorded an inflation rate of 20.7 percent in April 2015, representing 4.9 percentage points increase over the March 2015 rate of 15.8 percent.

In April 2015, 11 out of the 16 major groups in the manufacturing sub-sector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 19.5 percent.

Publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media recorded the highest inflation rate of 56.0 percent while the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products recorded the lowest producer price inflation rate.

The inflation rate in the petroleum sub-sector was 47.2 percent in April 2014. The rate started rising in July 2014. Thereafter, the rate fluctuated until November, 2014 to record 61.1 percent. Since then, the rate has consistently declined to record -8.7 percent in March 2015 and subsequently to -9.6 percent as a result of base drift effect and the decrease in ex-refinery prices of petroleum products.

From April 2014, producer price inflation began an upward trend and increased consistently over five months to record 48.6 percent in August 2014.

However, the rate consistently declined to record 19.2 percent in March 2015, but inched up to record 19.5 percent in April, 2015.

By Samuel Boadi
(Pix saved as Dr Philomena Nyarko, Gov't Statistician in bus)