Inflation increased from 8.40 per cent in September, 2011 to 8.56 per cent in October, 2011, the Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, has announced.
The current rate represents 0.16 per cent decline from the previous month�s figure.
The October increase was mainly influenced by the rise in the general price level of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
According to Dr Bediako, inflation for the food and non-alcoholic beverage group rose from its September rate of 3.74 per cent to 4.03 per cent in October as against the 0.02 inch in the non-food group�s October rate.
Announcing the October rate at a news conference in Accra yesterday, Dr Bediako said monthly inflation, however, declined to a negative of 0.08 per cent from its September figure of negative 1.53 per cent resulting from a stable food basket in the month under review.
The transport sub-sector�s rate of 23 per cent was the highest in the non-food group while the communication sub-sector recorded the least rate of 0.41 per cent.
Inflation rates in the regions, according to the Government Statistician, ranged from 5.20 per cent as recorded in the Upper East and West regions to 10.07 per cent recorded in the Central Region.
�The Ashanti, Western, Greater Accra regions, however, recorded inflation rates above the national rate of 8.56 per cent,� she noted.
The two upper regions and the Greater Accra Region have been recording the highest regional rates while the Central and Northern regions and in some occasions, the Volta Region intermittently record the lowest.
Annualised inflation (comparing price changes on a year-on-year bases) has, since June, 2010, stabilised at a single digit level, hovering around 9.38 per cent and 8.39 per cent within the last 16 months.
The stability in the rate was mainly as a result of the positive pressure coming from the non-food basket which had a combined weight of 55.09 per cent as compared to the contrasting pressure from the food and non-alcoholic beverages group with a weight of 44.91 per cent.
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