Ghana’s annual inflation rate rose for a third consecutive month to 5.5% in October 2026, up from 5.2% in September. Figures released by the Ghana Statistical Service on Wednesday, 4 November, show mounting price pressure in services, especially transport, even as food inflation continued to ease.
Services prices rose 11.5% from a year earlier, compared with 8.3% in September. Transport inflation accelerated from 5.7% to 14.1%, with prices in that category increasing 8% in October alone, according to the presentation of the report by Government Statistician Alhassan Iddrisu. Goods inflation, by contrast, slowed to 3.8% from 4.2%.
Lower food prices cushion the increase
Food prices moved in the opposite direction. Annual food inflation eased from 4% to 2.8%, while prices fell 2% between September and October. Across the full consumer basket, prices dipped 0.1% month on month, although they remained higher than a year earlier.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded annual inflation of 10.5%. The category accounted for 24.4% of the contribution to overall inflation, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages at 24.3% and transport at 22.5%. Together, the three categories made up almost 70% of the contributions to the headline reading.
The Bank of Ghana targets medium-term inflation of 8%, with a two-percentage-point tolerance on either side. The October reading is therefore 0.5 percentage points below the lower bound of that range.