One Rate, Many Markets
October's inflation figures, line by line
Inflation rose to 5.5 per cent in October, a third straight monthly rise, as food inflation eased and transport prices pushed services costs sharply higher.
Ghana's year-on-year inflation rose to 5.5 per cent in October 2026, from 5.2 per cent in September, according to Ghana Statistical Service figures reported by Citi Newsroom. It is the third monthly rise in a row. Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu said the rate has climbed every month since July, when it stood at 4.6 per cent.
The Statistical Service also gave the figure in cedis, as Ghana Business News reported. A basket that cost GH¢100 in October 2025 now costs GH¢105.50. A year earlier the rate was 8.0 per cent, so October is still 2.5 percentage points lower, Graphic Online reported.
The puzzle in October is that food did not drive the rise. Food inflation eased to 2.8 per cent, from 4 per cent in September and 9.5 per cent a year ago, according to Ghana Business News. Food prices were still higher than a year earlier, but they were rising more slowly. Services moved the other way. Services inflation jumped to 11.5 per cent from 8.3 per cent, led by an 8.0 per cent month-on-month rise in transport prices, Graphic Online reported.
Dr Iddrisu put it in pesewas: "Of every GH¢1 of price rise in October, about 76 pesewas came from non-food and 24 pesewas from food."
Transport had the highest inflation of the 13 spending divisions, 14.1 per cent in October against 5.7 per cent in September, GBC Ghana Online reported. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels ran at 10.5 per cent and made the largest single contribution to the total, 24.4 per cent. Housing, food and transport together made up about 70 per cent of overall inflation, according to GBC.
Individual items swing much further than the averages. Fresh tomatoes rose 119.3 per cent year-on-year, shrimps 88.8 per cent and ginger 88.2 per cent, GBC reported. Mangoes rose 45.3 per cent. Some staples fell over the same year: guinea corn and sorghum were down 28.0 per cent, maize 27.2 per cent and local rice 14.3 per cent, according to Ghana Business News. Parking space and related services rose 47.2 per cent. Standing still, it turns out, is not exempt.
The rise was also uneven by region. Ashanti Region recorded the highest inflation, 9.7 per cent, and the Northern Region the lowest, -0.5 per cent, Graphic Online reported. Ashanti and Greater Accra together accounted for 60.2 per cent of total inflation. Locally produced items rose 6.9 per cent and accounted for 86.4 per cent of inflation, while imported items rose 2.4 per cent.
Dr Iddrisu described Ghana's inflation story as "one national rate, many local experiences," Ghana Business News reported. He urged that the official figure be used as a common basis for wage talks, contracts and planning.
Month on month, even the one national rate points the other way. The consumer price index fell 0.1 per cent in October, after a 1.1 per cent rise in September, Citi Newsroom reported. So October's prices did not rise on September's. But the yearly rate compares October with October, so it can rise even in a month when the price level falls slightly. Only the next few monthly prints will show which pull is stronger.
While those prints come in, the Bank of Ghana's own lever has stayed put. At its 132nd meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee unanimously held the policy rate at 14 per cent, its third straight hold this year, ModernGhana reported. The bank's medium-term target band is 8 ± 2 per cent. Governor Johnson Asiama said real GDP grew 6 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, below the 6.6 per cent recorded a year earlier. He said the 91-day Treasury bill rate had fallen to 5.4 per cent from 10.3 per cent. Private sector credit growth rebounded to 35.5 per cent in August, from 13.3 per cent a year earlier, he added.
Next comes the 2027 Budget Statement, due on 12 November, GBC noted. The next print will show whether transport prices settle back or keep claiming so many of the pesewas.
“Of every GH¢1 of price rise in October, about 76 pesewas came from non-food and 24 pesewas from food.”
- Citi Newsroom: Inflation rises for third consecutive month to 5.5%
- Graphic Online: Ghana's inflation rises for third straight month as services costs soar
- Ghana Business News: Ghana inflation edges up to 5.5% in October
- GBC Ghana Online: Ghana's Inflation Rises to 5.5% in October as Transport and Services Costs Surge
- ModernGhana: BoG maintains policy rate at 14 per cent for third time
- Bank of Ghana: Monetary Policy