The government has fallen short of its 2024 end-year inflation target of 15%, with December’s inflation rate reaching 23.8%. This marks a slight increase from November 23.0%, primarily driven by rising food prices.
December’s inflation represents the fourth consecutive monthly rise following a five-month decline earlier in the year. Food inflation surged from 25.9% to 27.8%, while non-food inflation recorded a marginal decline, dropping from 20.7% to 20.3%.
Providing further details, Government Statistician Professor Samuel Kobina Annim explained:
“In December 2024, average prices of goods and services went up by 23.8%, indicating that on a year-on-year basis, specifically between December 2023 and December 2024, general price levels of goods and services increased by 23.8%.
“This is against the backdrop that in November 2024, we recorded an overall rate of inflation of 23.0%, showing a marginal increase of 0.8 percentage points for the year-on-year inflation between November and December 2024.”
Breaking down the inflation figures, Prof. Annim highlighted a significant gap between food and non-food inflation. “Disaggregating year-on-year inflation from a food and non-food perspective, we identified a 7.5 percentage point difference, with food inflation at 27.8% and non-food inflation at 20.3% for December 2024,” he said.
He further noted contrasting trends in the inflation components. “We have seen an increase in food inflation from 25.9% to 27.8%, while non-food inflation decreased slightly, from 20.7% to 20.3%, reflecting a 0.4 percentage point drop for December 2024.”
