According to the African Development Bank’s updated 2024 African Economic Outlook, Ghana’s inflation is predicted to reach 20.9% by the end of 2024.
This exceeds the 17.4% that was initially estimated.
It implies that inflation would continue to be outside the 8%±2 level set by the Bank of Ghana.
AfDB stated that a number of variables have obscured the forecast.
These include the consequences of the Post-Covid Programme for Economic Growth’s fiscal austerity, consequences resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, restricted access to capital and foreign exchange, and worldwide macroeconomic shocks.
Still, it stated that the dangers may be reduced by using smart macroeconomic management techniques.
Moreover, it predicted that in 2025, the Consumer Price Index will contract to 11.1%.
In the meantime, it is predicted that the average consumer price inflation in Africa rose from 14.0% in 2022 to 17% in 2023, a rise of 3.0 percentage points.
In 2023, East Africa had the greatest rate of inflation (26.5%), with Sudan at the top of the list (245.3%). With Ghana and Sierra Leone at the top of the list, West Africa has the second-highest percentage (20.3%).
The greater rate of inflation in Africa, according to the report, has destroyed socioeconomic gains achieved prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The increase is a result of a number of factors, including increased local food prices brought on by shortages in domestic supplies due to the drought, liquidity overhangs from pandemic-related fiscal and monetary policy stimulus implemented in 2020–2021, and the pass-through effects of currency depreciation against a strong US dollar driven by high US interest rates. The picture of inflation varies throughout locations.