Ghana’s producer price inflation slowed in January, but a sharp month-on-month jump in factory-gate prices points to renewed short-term cost pressures for businesses and consumers.
Annual producer inflation eased to 1.6% in January 2026, down from 1.9% in December, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). The Producer Price Index rose to 274.9, from 266.0 in December.
However, the GSS data also showed producer prices rose 3.3% month-on-month, reversing a 0.8% decline in December and signaling a notable increase in average prices received by domestic producers at the start of the year. Mining and quarrying, the largest sector in the index with a 43.7% weight, recorded a rise in annual inflation to 3.7%, from 3.3% in December.
The monthly jump was also driven by mining, where prices rose 7.0% month-on-month, swinging from -1.4% in December and contributing the largest share of the overall increase. Manufacturing, the second-largest sector with a 35% weight, was a key drag on the annual headline figure. Producer inflation in manufacturing fell to -2.2% year-on-year, from 0.1% a month earlier, reflecting broad weakness in factory-gate prices across parts of the sector.
Utilities recorded some of the sharpest increases. Electricity and gas inflation accelerated to 14.8% year-on-year, from 6.1% in December, while water supply, sewerage and waste management rose to 9.9%, from 2.3%. Transportation and storage continued to record falling prices, with producer inflation dropping further to -6.9% year-on-year, from -3.7% in December.
The producer price index tracks average changes in prices received by domestic producers at the factory gate, excluding taxes and retail mark-ups, and is often used as an early signal of cost pressures that can filter into consumer inflation. The GSS said the index is based on prices for 2,639 items collected monthly from 603 domestic producers, with March 2020 to February 2021 as the base period.
