Ghana’s inflation rate for February 2024 has dropped to 23.2 per cent.
Statistician-General of Ghana, Samuel Kobina Annim, disclosed this on Wednesday.
This is a decline of 30 basis points from the 23.5 per cent recorded in January 2024.
According to him, food inflation dropped to 27 per cent from 27.1 per cent in January, while non-food price growth stood at 20 per cent, down from 20.5 per cent.
The Bank of Ghana had forecast that inflation would drop to between 13 per cent and 17 per cent by year end, gradually returning to its medium-term target range of 6 per cent to 10 per cent by the conclusion of 2025.
Ghana’s policymakers’ had anticipated a continued easing of inflationary pressures, leading to the decision to conclude the most aggressive phase of monetary tightening, resulting in a reduction of the benchmark rate from 30 per cent to 29 per cent in January.
In 2023, Ghana faced an unparalleled economic downturn characterised by an alarming inflation rate that surged to over 50 per cent.
The nation’s economic difficulties commenced in December 2022 with the declaration of a suspension of payments on a substantial portion of its $28.4 billion external debt, effectively constituting a default.
Recently, the IMF approved a $3 billion rescue package for Ghana- the world’s second-largest cocoa producer. Additionally, the West African nation is undergoing a comprehensive restructuring of nearly all its $47 billion debt to ensure its sustainability.