Ghana’s inflation rate rose to 5.2% in September 2026, extending its upward trend for a second consecutive month as higher prices for food, services and other consumer items put renewed pressure on the economy.
The latest figure, released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), increased from 5.0% in August but remained significantly below the 9.4% recorded in September 2025. The September increase came after Ghana’s inflation rate fell to a low of 3.2% in March, before gradually picking up in subsequent months. The latest data suggest that while inflation remains far below last year’s level, price pressures are beginning to strengthen again.
Government Statistician Alhassan Iddrisu said the recent movement in inflation showed a shift in the direction of price growth, with services and locally produced goods becoming major drivers.
“Inflation has almost halved over the year, but the direction over the last two months is upward,” he said. “Today, inflation is mainly driven by services and by home-grown items.”
On a month to month basis, consumer prices increased by 1.1% in September, compared with a 1% decline recorded in August.
“Month-on-month, we recorded an inflation rate of 1.1 percent in September 2026. This follows a price fall of 1 percent in August.”
Food inflation also increased during the month, reaching 4% from 3% in August. Despite the rise, food inflation remained substantially lower than the 11% recorded in September 2025. Food prices increased by 1.5% between August and September after recording a 2.6% decline in August.
“Food inflation rose to 4 percent in September 2026, up from 3 percent in August 2026. But a year ago, food inflation was 11 percent, so food prices are rising far more slowly than they were a year ago.”
Non food inflation, however, moderated to 6.2% in September from 6.8% in August. Despite the decline, non food items remained the largest contributor to overall inflation, accounting for about 63% of the September figure.
“Which of the two categories is driving inflation? The answer is non food. It accounts for about 63% of inflation in September while food accounts for about 37%.”
Services continued to record stronger price increases than goods, with services inflation standing at 8.3% in September. Although this was slightly lower than the 8.6% recorded in August, it was considerably higher than the 4.8% recorded a year earlier.
“But here is what stands out when it comes to services. A year ago, services inflation was only 4.8%. What does this mean? So, services are now rising about twice as fast as goods.”
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded the highest inflation among the 13 spending categories at 10.3%, although this was down from 11.6% in August.
“Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels has the highest rates of all the 13 divisions at 10.3 percent, down from 11.6 percent in August. It contributed about 26 percent to the September 2026 inflation.”
Restaurants and accommodation services recorded inflation of 9.2%, while transport inflation stood at 7%. The latest figures show that Ghana’s inflation fight is continuing, but the recent increase highlights renewed pressure on consumer prices. Annual inflation has risen from 4.6% in July to 5.0% in August and 5.2% in September, indicating that the downward trend recorded earlier in the year has begun to reverse.
