Ghana’s Inflation Drops for 13th Straight Month to 3.8 Per cent

• Ghana's inflation rate dropped again in January 2026, marking the lowest headline figure since 2021
• Food and non-food inflation both declined by a significant percentage, signalling reduced cost pressures
• President John Mahama previously lauded the sustained improvement, attributing the recovery to bold policy changes

Ghana’s inflation rate eased to 3.8% in January 2026, the 13th consecutive monthly decline.

On a year-on-year basis, the inflation rate has fallen by 19.7% compared to the 23.5% recorded in January 2025.

The Ghana Statistical Service, in a presentation to the press, noted that the food inflation rate declined to 3.9% in January 2026, down from 4.9 percent in December 2025.

The non-food inflation rate followed a similar path, dropping sharply to 3.9% from 5.8% in December 2025, pointing to declining cost pressures in housing, transport, utilities, and other core consumer categories.

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Regionally, inflation outcomes were mixed. The Savannah Region recorded the lowest inflation at negative 2.6%, indicating outright price declines, while the North East Region posted the highest rate at 11.2%, highlighting persistent spatial disparities in price dynamics.

The sustained disinflation comes just weeks after the Bank of Ghana cut its policy rate by 250 basis points to 15.5%, a move that now appears aligned with emerging price trends and could shape expectations ahead of future monetary policy decisions.

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Mahama speaks on economic turnaround

On January 25, Mahama expressed surprise at the improvement in key indicators of the economy.

He described the rapid recovery as only by the grace of God and had expected it to take about two years to see an economic turnaround.

After inheriting an economy weighed down by inflation above 23%, interest rates north of 30%, and a sharply depreciating cedi, the Mahama administration oversaw a significant reversal.

His administration's efforts have been hailed by neutral observers and experts even as the opposition continues to dismiss these gains.

The inflation rate reduced for the 12th consecutive month by the end of 2025.

Treasury bill rates dropped from over 30% at end-2024 to about 11% in 2025.

For the first time in decades, the cedi also recorded an annual appreciation against all major currencies, including 40.7% against the US dollar.

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Trade balance posted a surplus of US$8.5 billion by the end of October 2025, up from US$2.8 billion a year earlier.

Cedi losing ground in 2026

YEN.com.gh reported that the Ghana cedi began 2026 by depreciating by an average of 4% against major trading currencies.

Data from the Bank of Ghana’s January 2026 Summary of Economic and Financial Data showed the cedi trading at GH¢10.88 to the US dollar on the interbank market.

This was compared with GH¢10.45 at the end of December 2025, marking a 4% depreciation rate.

Beyond the dollar, the cedi also lost 4.9% against the pound and 4.1% against the euro, trading at GH¢14.77 and GH¢12.80 on the interbank market, respectively, over the period under review.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh