Annual Producer Price Index rises by 3.28 per cent

Accra, July 28, GNA - The Annual Producer Price Index (PPI) went up by 3.28 percentage points in June, bringing the respective yearly change between June 2009 and June 2010 to 19.42, down from 16.14 per cent.

This brings the monthly change rate between May and June 2010 to 10.41 per cent as against 1.13 per cent recorded between April and May 2010.

Mr Sylvester Gyamfi, Head, Programmes Development and Management of Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), told a press conference in Accra on Wednesday that the annual PPI for June 2010 was higher than the rate recorded for the same period in 2009, which stood at 17.77 per cent.

"The all industry year-on-year average inflation for the first half of 2010 was 20.02 per cent," he said.

On specific industry basis, the manufacturing sector, which controls 69.75 per cent shares of all industry, recorded the lowest inflation rate for the period closing at 0.16 per cent, which was also lower than that for the previous month, which stood at 18.39 per cent.

The mining and quarrying sector, which controls 13.97 per cent of all industry share, recorded an inflation rate of 3.02 per cent as against 22.98 per cent recorded in May.

The utilities sector, which includes production, transmission and distribution of electricity, collection and distribution of water, recorded the highest inflation rate during the period (June) after months without perceptible changes, closing at 71.38 per cent, down from 0.09 per cent in May.

Mr Gyamfi attributed the sharp rise in the rate of inflation in the utilities sector during the period to the increase in tariffs, which took effect from June this year.

He said if the utility prices went down, the inflation trend might come down.

However, Mr Gyamfi said if manufacturers responded by increasing prices, the upward trending of inflation might not cease.

He said there was a decline in the price of manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products from 45.34 per cent in May, to close at 4.84 per cent in June while manufacture of chemicals and chemical products went up by 1.10 per cent after recording a negative inflation rate of 0.99 per cent in May.