Inflation Rises Slightly to 5.0%
Year-on-year inflation stands at 5.0% in August 2026, up marginally from 4.6% in July, but 6.5 percentage points below the 11.5% recorded in August 2025.
Government Statistician, Alhassan Iddrisu, who disclosed this, said on a month-on-month basis, prices fell by 1% in August compared with July, reversing July’s rise of 0.1% – the first real relief at the market in months.
According to him, food inflation eased to 3%, while non-food inflation climbed to 6.8%. Of every cedi of price increase, 71 pesewas came from non-food items and 29 pesewas from food.
Goods inflation rose by 3.8%, while services inflation stood at 8.6%, more than double that of goods and still the toughest part of the basket.
He noted that locally produced products, which are up by 6.1%, are driving 86% of all inflation, while imported inflation rose to 2.2%, thanks to a steadier cedi.
Regionally, Central Region recorded the highest inflation at 11.1%, while Bono East recorded the lowest at 3.3%. Ashanti and Greater Accra together drove nearly two-thirds of the national rate.
Housing, water and energy topped the list of inflation drivers, accounting for almost 30% of inflation, followed by food and then transport. Rent alone accounted for 14.7%.
On specific items, fresh tomatoes were the single biggest driver at 23.1%, with prices up 158.3%, followed by ginger at 128.3%. On the other hand, lime is down 33.7% and maize down by 31.3%, easing the weekly food bill.
“In short, inflation is easing. Inflation is homegrown, and inflation is driven by housing, energy and transport, not imports,” Mr Iddrisu said.
He offered advice to households, businesses and government, saying, “If you run a home, plan with confidence. Put aside what cheaper food is saving you and keep a close eye on transport, rent and school fees.”
“If you run a business, price on the official 5% not on rumour and lock in supplier goods while imports are still cheap. For government, anchor budget and wages on these numbers and send relief where it is needed most, like Central.”
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