The country's year-on-year inflation rate eased further to 3.8 per cent in January 2026 from 5.4 per cent in December 2025 on the back of strong macroeconomic stability and improved economic conditions, the Government Statistician, Dr Alhasan Iddrisu, has said.
The January inflation rate was the lowest recorded since August 1999, when inflation stood at 1.4 per cent, and also the lowest since the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rebasing in 2021, marking the 13th consecutive month of decline in January Consumer Price (CPI) Index and Inflation Rate.
The Government Statistician, Dr Alhasan Iddrisu, said the CPI stood at 262.3 in January 2026, up from 252.6 in December 2025, explaining that although the index increased, the pace of price changes had moderated considerably.
He said food inflation remained the main driver of the January inflation outturn, recording a year-on-year rate of 3.9 per cent.
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He said food inflation declined from 4.9 per cent in December 2025 to 3.9 per cent in January 2026, reflecting slower increases in measured longer-term price trends inflation.
It also represented a 1.6 percentage point drop from the December 2025 inflation rate of 5.4 per cent and a sharp 19.7 percentage point reduction from the 23.5 per cent recorded in January 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation eased to 0.2 per cent in January 2026 from 0.9 per cent in December 2025, indicating a significant slowdown in short-term price increases.
Addressing a news conference in Accra yesterday to release the food prices compared to previous months, Dr Alhasan Iddrisu said on a month-on-month basis, food inflation rose to 1.1 per cent in January 2026, attributing the increase largely to seasonal factors, including post-harvest price adjustments and higher demand at the start of the year.
Dr Iddrisu said inflation affected households, businesses and policymakers through its impact on food prices, transport costs, business pricing decisions and government planning, stressing the importance of clear and transparent communication of inflation data.
He said year-on-year inflation was measured by comparing prices with the same month a year earlier, while month-on-month inflation captured short-term price movements between consecutive months.
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Dr Alhasan Iddrisu said non-food inflation declined sharply from 5.8 per cent in December 2025 to 3.9 per cent in January 2026, while month-on-month non-food prices fell by 0.4 per cent, driven by price reductions in items such as petrol, diesel, gas, charcoal and baby products.
He said goods inflation slowed to 3.6 per cent year-on-year, while services inflation eased to 4.0 per cent, noting that the slowdown in goods inflation was particularly important because goods constituted nearly three-quarters of the CPI basket.
Dr Iddrisu said inflation for locally produced items declined to 4.5 per cent, while imported inflation fell sharply to 2.0 per cent, reflecting exchange rate stability, easing global price pressures and improved alignment between domestic and international markets.
He said the five contributors to inflation at the item level were charcoal, green plantain, smoked herrings and cinema and cultural services, which contributed 52 per cent of the overall inflation rate recorded in January.
The Government Statistician said the low inflation items namely garden eggs, fried fish, cocoyam, pawpaw and fresh tomatoes dragged overall inflation by 24 per cent.
On regional performance, Dr Iddrisu said inflation varied significantly across the country, with the North East Region recording the highest rate at 11.2 per cent, while the Savannah Region recorded the lowest at negative 2.6 per cent, pointing to differences in supply conditions, transport costs and market access.
