Ghana’s inflation rises to 5.2% in September 2026

Story by: Regina Bless

Ghana’s year-on-year inflation rate increased to 5.2% in September 2026, from 5.0% in August, marking the second consecutive monthly rise after inflation fell to a low of 3.2% in March.

Despite the recent increase, the September rate remains significantly below the 9.4% recorded in September 2025, representing a 4.2 percentage-point decline over the past year.

The Government Statistician said the latest increase reflects a reversal of the price decline recorded in August. Month-on-month inflation stood at 1.1% in September, following a 1% decline in prices in August.

He noted that while inflation has nearly halved over the past year, the recent upward movement cannot be ignored.

“Inflation has nearly halved over the year, but the direction over the last two months is upward. Both are facts and both matter.”

Food inflation edges higher

Food inflation increased to 4% in September, up from 3% in August, although it remained considerably lower than the 11% recorded a year earlier.

Food prices rose by 1.5% month-on-month, reversing the 2.6% decline recorded in August. Food accounted for approximately 37% of overall inflation during the month.

The figures suggest that food prices are still increasing at a much slower pace than they were a year ago, offering some relief to households despite the recent rise.

Non-food remains the main driver

Non-food inflation declined to 6.2% in September, from 6.8% in August and 8.2% a year earlier.

However, non-food items remained the largest contributor to the overall inflation rate, accounting for about 63% of inflation in September.

On a month-on-month basis, non-food prices increased by 0.6%, compared with 0.5% in August.

Services continue to outpace goods

The data also highlights a growing gap between goods and services inflation.

Goods inflation increased to 4.2% in September, from 3.8% in August, but remained significantly below the 11.2% recorded in September 2025.

Services inflation, meanwhile, eased slightly to 8.3%, from 8.6% in August, but remained considerably higher than the 4.8% recorded a year earlier.

This means services are now becoming a more persistent source of price pressure, with services inflation running at almost twice the rate of goods inflation.

Housing and utilities record highest inflation

Among the 13 divisions of spending, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded the highest inflation rate at 10.3%, although this was down from 11.6% in August.

The division contributed about 26% of overall inflation in September.

Other notable inflation rates included 9.2% for restaurants and hotels and 7% for transport.

Outlook

Ghana’s latest inflation figures present a mixed picture. On one hand, inflation has fallen sharply compared with a year ago, demonstrating a significant improvement in overall price stability.

On the other hand, the movement from 4.6% in July to 5.0% in August and 5.2% in September signals that inflationary pressures are beginning to build again.

For households and businesses, the key issue will be whether the recent upward trend continues or stabilises in the coming months. Maintaining price stability will therefore remain important to protecting household purchasing power and sustaining the gains recorded over the past year.