ACCRA: Ghana's annual consumer price inflation in April rose to its highest level since June 2010 on the back of the depreciation of the cedi currency, Ghana's statistic office said on Wednesday.
Inflation in the oil, gold and cocoa producing nation rose to 10.6 percent in April, from 10.4 percent in March. It reamins within the Central Bank's target band of 2 percentage points either side of 9 percent.
"The key price driver for April is the currency depreciation and the fact that the harvest season is yet to set in," Baah Wadieh, acting deputy government statistician, told a news conference in Accra.
The Ghana cedi currency has weakened a much as 3.5 percent against the dollar since January, hitting a new low at 1.9895 on May 6, according to Reuters data.
The statistics office also blamed carry-on effects from the removal of fuel subsidies in February.
Databank analyst Sampson Akligo said the inflation figure reflected "the filtering of effects of fuel subsidies. Seasonally, food prices are also pressured during this period."
Month-on-month inflation was 1.8 pct compared with 1.7 pct for March.
Year-on-year, food inflation reached 6.4 pct versus 5.5 pct in March. Non-food inflation inched up to 13.2 pct from 13 pct.
Key drivers in the food group were mineral water, soft drinks and juices. Transport, clothing and footwear, and education led the non-food group.
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