Ghana’s inflation rate edged up to 5.0 percent in August 2026 from 4.6 percent in July, as rising costs in housing, utilities, transport and other services outweighed easing food price pressures.
However, on a month-on-month basis, consumers experienced some relief as average prices declined by 1.0 percent in August, marking the sharpest monthly fall recorded this year.
Presenting the August 2026 Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, Government Statistician Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu said the latest figures point to a changing inflation landscape in which non-food items and services have become the dominant drivers of price increases.
“Prices are 5 percent higher than they were a year ago, but 1 percent lower than they were in July,” he said, explaining that inflation measures the rate at which prices change over time rather than how expensive goods and services are.
The August rate remains significantly below the 11.5 percent recorded in the corresponding period last year, underscoring the substantial moderation in price growth achieved over the past 12 months.
While food inflation eased marginally to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent in July, non-food inflation accelerated to 6.8 percent, highlighting a shift in the sources of inflationary pressure.
Services inflation climbed to 8.6 percent, more than twice the 3.8 percent recorded for goods. According to Dr. Iddrisu, nearly 71 percent of the inflation experienced by households in August originated from non-food categories, including transport, housing, rent, education and other services.
“This is no longer mainly a food story. It is a non-food services story,” he noted.
Locally produced goods and services recorded inflation of 6.1 percent, compared with 2.2 percent for imported items, suggesting domestic cost factors continue to have a greater influence on overall price movements than developments in global markets.
The Government Statistician indicated that transport costs, energy prices, rents and wage-related expenses remain the most significant sources of inflationary pressure within the economy.
Among the 13 expenditure divisions used in compiling the CPI, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels emerged as the largest contributor to national inflation, accounting for 29.4 percent of the overall inflation rate.
Inflation within the housing category rose sharply from 8.3 percent in July to 11.6 percent in August.
The food and non-alcoholic beverages category contributed 29.1 percent of total inflation, followed by transport at 13.2 percent, education services at 7.5 percent, and restaurants and hotels at 4.8 percent.
Collectively, these five divisions accounted for about 84 percent of the total inflation recorded during the month.
Meanwhile, inflation in alcohol and tobacco slowed, while the communication division entered deflation territory with prices declining by 0.1 percent year-on-year.
The latest data also revealed wide regional variations in inflation. The Central Region recorded the highest inflation rate in the country at 11.1 percent, up from 7.5 percent in July, representing the largest monthly increase among all regions.
In contrast, the Bono East Region registered the lowest inflation rate of negative 3.3 percent, indicating that prices there were lower than a year ago.
The Ashanti Region recorded inflation of 8.7 percent, up from 7.6 percent, while Greater Accra posted 5.0 percent, compared with 4.7 percent in July.
Dr. Iddrisu noted that Ashanti and Greater Accra together accounted for 63.6 percent of the national consumer market, making developments in those regions particularly influential in determining the national inflation outcome.
Inflation in the Eastern Region slowed to 4.0 percent from 6.1 percent, while the Northern Region recorded a decline to 0.6 percent from 2.1 percent.
“Where you live genuinely shapes what you pay, and national averages often hide very different local realities,” he said.
Tomatoes, rent among biggest price drivers
At the product level, fresh tomatoes were the largest contributor to overall inflation, accounting for 23.1 percent of the August inflation rate.
Other major contributors included rent payments (14.7 percent), ginger (12.2 percent), charcoal (9.2 percent) and cooked rice (7.9 percent).
Fresh tomatoes also recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate of 158.3 percent, overtaking ginger, which posted inflation of 128.3 percent.
Other items recording sharp price increases included trees (67.1 percent), mangoes (57.7 percent) and parking services (40 percent).
On the other hand, several products became significantly cheaper during the review period.
Lime prices declined by 33.7 percent, maize by 31.3 percent, cocoyam leaves by 24.8 percent, sweet apples by 23.5 percent, and fried fish by 23.2 percent.
Dr. Iddrisu said the data suggests inflation in Ghana is increasingly being driven by domestic cost conditions rather than imported price shocks.
He encouraged households to take advantage of easing food inflation while remaining cautious about rising service-related costs, particularly transport fares, rent and educational expenses.
Businesses were urged to anchor pricing and contractual decisions on the official inflation rate and avoid excessive price increases, while policymakers were advised to target interventions at regions experiencing elevated inflation pressures.
The August inflation rate of 5.0 percent remains below the lower bound of the Bank of Ghana’s medium-term target band of 8 percent, plus or minus 2 percentage points, signalling a relatively stable inflation environment despite the recent uptick.
Source: businesspostonline
