Inflation eases to 8.90 per cent

FOR three conservative times, the Consumer Price Index  (CPI)  has recorded a downward pressure bringing the  annualised inflation in May down to 8.90 per cent.
This  represents a 0.12 per cent reduction in the April rate of 9.02 per cent.
 Announcing the May inflation rate in Accra, the Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, said the month-on-month inflation, however, rose from 1.31 per cent in April to 1.76 in May.
In practical terms, therefore, general prices of goods and services increased at a much faster rate of  1.76 per cent in May 2011 as compared to that of April this year.
Monthly inflation has, since January this year been declining, starting from 2.06  per cent in January to 1.11 per cent in March. 
According to Dr Bediako, the non-food group, which had a weight of 55.09 per cent on the entire CPI basket recorded an inflation rate of 12.15 per cent, a little over three times higher than the food and non-beverages group’s rate of 3.93 per cent in May.
In the food and non-alcoholic beverages group, Dr Bediako said the sugar, jam, honey, syrups, chocolate and confectionery sub-group recorded the highest rate of 14.66 per cent while the bread and cereal sub-group, both common consumables nation-wide recorded a negative 0.29 per cent, the least in that group.
The food and non-alcoholic beverages group has, for sometime now been witnessing a consistent decline, partly pulling annualised inflation down over the past three months.
The non-food group, however has been recording a consistently slow rise of double digit inflation after the figure declined slightly in January and December.
According to Dr Bediako, the “transport sub-sector of the non-food group recorded an appreciable rate of 22.59 per cent in May” while the communication sub-group recorded a zero change, being the lowest in the sub-groups category.
With regards to regional trends in May, Dr Bediako said the Greater Accra Region again recorded the highest rate of 12.23 per cent followed by the Central Region’s figure of 10.83 per cent.
The Northern and Volta region, she added, recorded the least rates of 4.15 per cent and 5.22 per cent respectively.
The two upper regions which recorded the highest regional inflation in the food group last April , have however recorded the least rate in May.
Annual inflation which measures the average rate at which prices of goods and services change over the one year period has assumed a consistent decline, reducing from 9.16 per cent in January to this May figure of 8.90 per cent.
That three-month consistent decline, according  to the government statistician “can be attributed more to the food and non-alcoholic beverages group than the non-food group.”
Explaining further, Dr Bediako said the food and  the non-alcoholic beverages group have been recording “single digit inflation rate and declining since January 2010.
“The non food group on the other hand has been recording double digit inflation rates, declining from January 2010 to December 2010 and thereafter, started rising slowly.”
On the future outlook, Dr Bediako said the current consistent rising trend recorded in the month-on-month rate could be expected to continue well into the year.