Ghana’s producer-price inflation (PPI) accelerated to 4% in July from 3.5% in June, as higher costs across industry, manufacturing and utilities added to pressure on businesses, according to the Ghana Statistical Service.
The Producer Price Index, which measures changes in prices received by domestic producers, rose 2% month-on-month in July, reversing a 3.7% decline recorded in June. The July figures are provisional and may be revised as additional data become available.
The increase was driven largely by industry, where producer inflation excluding construction climbed to 5.6% from 3.3% a month earlier. The sector also recorded a 4% increase in producer prices between June and July.
Electricity and gas recorded the fastest annual price increase among the major sectors, with producer inflation reaching 13.3%, up from 12.5% in June. Water supply, sewerage and waste management followed at 10.1%, while construction recorded 4.8% and services 2.5%.
Mining and quarrying, which carries the largest weight in the PPI at 43.7%, recorded annual producer inflation of 3.5%, up from 2.6% in June. Manufacturing, with a 35% weight, rose to 3.7% from 3.5%.
Manufacturing costs remain uneven
The manufacturing data show substantial divergence in production costs. Producer inflation for fabricated metal products reached 25.9%, the highest among the 23 manufacturing groups tracked by the statistical service, followed by leather and related products at 17.4%. Food-product manufacturing recorded 8.8%, while pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals and botanical products registered 5.7%.
At the other end of the scale, producer prices for other non-metallic mineral products fell 2.3%, while basic metals declined 0.2%. The manufacturing sector recorded a 1.4% month-on-month increase in July, compared with 1.3% annual inflation in June.
Energy and raw-material costs
Within the electricity and gas sector, electric power generation, transmission and distribution recorded producer inflation of 13.3%, while the manufacture and distribution of gaseous fuels through mains recorded 12.2%.
In mining, crude-oil and natural-gas extraction recorded inflation of 12.2% in July. Mining of metal ores, meanwhile, moved into deflation, with producer prices falling 2.3% year-on-year, down from 0.7% inflation in June.
The figures suggest that producer-price pressures are becoming increasingly concentrated in selected parts of the economy rather than moving uniformly across all sectors.
Services remain relatively contained
Services producer inflation stood at 2.5% in July, compared with 5.6% for industry excluding construction and 4.8% for construction. Services producer prices rose 0.2% month-on-month.
Transport and storage recorded annual inflation of 10.1%, while accommodation and food services rose 9.9%. Information and communication remained relatively subdued at 0.7%.
Land transport was a notable pressure point, with producer inflation reaching 23.4%, compared with 9.3% for air transport.
Construction producer inflation eased slightly to 4.8% from 4.9% in June. Construction of buildings remained the main source of pressure within the sector, with producer inflation at 7.9%, while civil engineering recorded 3.5%.
The July increase in producer inflation indicates that cost pressures facing Ghanaian producers strengthened during the month, particularly across industrial and energy-related activities, even as price growth in construction and some service activities remained relatively moderate.
