By Radarr Africa Business Desk
LAGOS, November 5 (Radarr Africa) – Ghana’s annual inflation rate rose to 5.5 per cent in October 2026, its highest level in 11 months, from 5.2 per cent in September, according to figures announced by the Government Statistician, Alhassan Iddrisu, and reported by Nairametrics.
Mr Iddrisu disclosed the figure at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, the report said. Nairametrics said the rise came amid a weaker cedi and higher prices in some non-food categories, even as food inflation slowed.
The breakdown shows widening pressure outside food. Non-food inflation rose to 7.9 per cent from 6.2 per cent in September, and services inflation jumped to 11.5 per cent from 8.3 per cent. Food inflation, by contrast, eased to 2.8 per cent from 4.0 per cent. The cedi has weakened by about 10 per cent against the dollar this year, adding to price pressures, according to the report.
Inflation has now risen for three consecutive months. It rose to 5.2 per cent in September from 5.0 per cent in August, a second straight monthly increase that Nairametrics previously attributed to services price pressures. The October reading compares with 3.2 per cent in March 2026, which Nairametrics reported in April as the lowest level since 2021.
The data arrive two weeks before the Bank of Ghana’s next policy meeting on November 18. The central bank has kept its policy rate at 14 per cent since March 2026, and the report said it is assessing price pressures linked partly to the Iran war and its effect on fuel and fertiliser supplies.
Nairametrics said the October figure “potentially strengthen[s] the case” for keeping the policy rate unchanged, though it added that the decision will depend on the central bank’s wider assessment. The Bank of Ghana targets inflation of between 6 per cent and 10 per cent. The report did not explain why the 5.5 per cent reading sits below the bottom of that range.
The article quoted no Bank of Ghana officials and carried no direct quotes from Mr Iddrisu.
For comparison, Nigeria’s headline inflation eased to 14.63 per cent in September 2026 from 15.39 per cent in August, its fourth consecutive monthly decline this year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as cited in the report.
The Ghana increase was led by services, where the 3.2 percentage point jump from September was the sharpest of the three categories reported. Non-food prices rose by 1.7 percentage points, while food prices fell by 1.2 percentage points.
Nairametrics also noted that the central bank cut its policy rate to 21.5 per cent and later to 18 per cent in the closing months of 2025, before the rate reached the current level of 14 per cent. The report gave inconsistent dates for the first of those cuts.
The Bank of Ghana has not yet commented on the October figures, according to the report, which did not mention any statement from the central bank. Markets will now look to the November 18 meeting for any signal on whether the central bank sees the recent rise in services and non-food inflation as temporary.
