• Inflation rate for Ghana is expected to stay at 9.8% by end of 2021
• This is according to a 2021 Africa Pulse Report by the World Bank
• The projected rate is said to fall in line with the Bank of Ghana’s target of 8% +/-2
Ghana’s end-of-year inflation rate has been projected at 9.8%, according to the 2021 Africa Pulse Report by the World Bank.
This means the rate falls in line with the Bank of Ghana’s target of 8% +/-2.
According to the report, the recent increase in inflation which was 9.7% in August 2021 has been attributed to a weakened cedi coupled with a rise in food prices.
But the Bretton Woods institutions said the inflation rate is expected to reduce in 2022, a move that will signal a reduction in interest rates.
“In Ghana, weak domestic currency combined with a rise in food prices pushed headline inflation from 9% year-on-year in July to 9.7% in August 2021, slightly closer to the upper bound of the official target band of 6 to 10%. It is estimated to remain close to the upper bound at 9.8% in 2021 and gradually decrease to 6.8% in 2023.”
“In the West and Central Africa sub-region, inflation in Nigeria remained high at 17.4 percent year-on-year in July 2021, although it has been decelerating slightly for the past four consecutive months. The average inflation for this year is projected at 16.5%, way above the official target band of 6 to 9%,” the World Bank report pointed.
Touching inflation rates across key West African nations, the Africa Pulse report said despite inflation being lower in Ghana than Nigeria, the cost of loans granted in Nigeria was less expensive than in Ghana.
It also added that inflation rates have however remained relatively under control across many countries in Africa.