Ghana's inflation rose to 5.5% in October 2026 from 5.2% in September, extending an upward trend for a third straight month as higher service and transport costs outweighed easing food prices.
The latest Consumer Price Index data from the Ghana Statistical Service show that inflation has continued to edge upwards since July, although the October rate remains below the Bank of Ghana’s medium term target of 8%, plus or minus two percentage points.
Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu said non food items were responsible for most of the price pressure recorded during the month.
“In very simple language, of every one Ghana cedi price rise in October 2026, about 76 pesewas came from non food items, and 24 pesewas came from food,” he said while presenting the October inflation report.
Food inflation falls as services surge
Food inflation slowed to 2.8% in October from 4% in September. It was also well below the 9.5% recorded in October last year.
Food prices fell by 2% between September and October, helping overall month on month inflation decline by 0.1%.
The pressure came from elsewhere.
Services inflation jumped to 11.5% from 8.3% in September, widening the gap with goods inflation, which fell to 3.8% from 4.2%. “Services are now rising about three times as fast as goods,” Dr Iddrisu said.
Transport recorded the highest inflation rate among the 13 expenditure divisions, climbing sharply to 14.1% from 5.7% in September. Transport prices increased by 8% within October alone.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded inflation of 10.5%. The category accounted for 24.4% of the overall inflation rate, making it the largest contributor.
Food and non alcoholic beverages contributed 24.3%, while transport accounted for 22.5%.
“Just these three divisions out of the 13 divisions contributed about 70% to October 2026 inflation,” Dr Iddrisu said.
Local products drive price pressures
The figures also show that domestic products remain the main source of inflationary pressure.
Inflation for locally produced items stood at 6.9%, compared with 2.4% for imported products. Local items accounted for 86.4% of total inflation in October.
Price movements also varied sharply across the country.
Ashanti Region recorded the highest inflation rate at 9.7%, followed by Eastern Region at 7.8%, Ahafo at 6.8% and Central Region at 6.2%.
Northern Region recorded negative inflation of 0.5%, meaning average prices there were lower than a year earlier.
“Where you live actually changes what you pay. In other words, inflation is not the same everywhere in Ghana,” the Government Statistician said.
Tomatoes record 119% price increase
Some individual products recorded far steeper increases than the national headline rate.
Fresh tomatoes topped the list with year on year inflation of 119.3%, followed by shrimps at 88.8% and ginger at 88.2%. Parking space and related services increased by 47.2%, while mango prices rose by 45.3%.
Other staples moved in the opposite direction.
Guinea corn prices declined by 28%, maize fell by 27.2%, foreign apples dropped by 24.5% and lime prices decreased by 23.7%.
Dr Iddrisu said the detailed figures provide a clearer picture of where price pressures are building and should guide decisions by households, businesses and government.
For households, the October figures mean headline inflation remains relatively low, but the cost pressures they experience will depend heavily on what they buy, the services they use and where they live.
The sharp rise in transport and services prices will therefore be closely watched in the coming months, particularly if those increases begin feeding into the cost of other goods and services.
READ ALSO: Government Explores Light Rail System to Replace Aayalolo
