Inflation from the producer’s perspective rose to 15.6 percent in January.

The producer price inflation (PPI), which tracks price changes from the factory gate, rose from 14.7 percent in December last year to 15.6 percent in January.

The Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, said the month-on-month change in producer price index between December 2021 and January 2022 was four percent.

He said the January PPI was driven by increases in the mining and quarrying and the manufacturing sub-sectors.

He said the utilities subsector recorded the least inflation.

Trends

The PPI started January 2021 at 8.7 percent but rose to 13 percent in March 2020, before declining to 10.9 percent in April 2021.

It resumed an upward trajectory, hitting 11.8 percent in May 2021 only to revert to 8.1 percent in August 2021.

Subsequently, the rate resumed the upward trajectory, peaking at 15.6 percent in January 2022.

Distribution

Touching on the sectorial distribution, Prof. Annim said the January PPI showed that two out of the 16 major groups in the manufacturing sub-sector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 22.9 percent.

He said the manufacture of coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel recorded the highest inflation rate of 35 percent, while the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers recorded the least inflation rate of negative 2.9 percent.

Petroleum sub-sector

The government statistician added that the producer inflation rate in the petroleum sub-sector was also 4.4 percent in January 2021.

He said the rate increased continuously to peak at 31 percent in March 2021 but declined to 23.9 percent in June 2021.

The rate, he said, then increased continuously to 58.4 percent in November 2021 but fell to 35.0 percent in January.

Source: Graphic Online