The country's year-on-year inflation rate declined to 21.2 per cent in April 2025 from 22.4 per cent recorded in March 2025, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced.The 1.2 percentage points drop represents the fifth consecutive decline in the national inflation rate since December 2024, reflecting ongoing efforts to stabilise prices and control inflationary pressures.However, the month-on-month inflation rate saw a slight surge, rising to 0.8 per cent in April from 0.2 per cent in March, representing a 0.6 percentage point increase.Addressing a press conference in Accra yes­terday on the April 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) and inflation figures, the Government Statistician, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, attributed the decline in the year-on-year inflation to a modera­tion in both food and non-food inflation.He said food inflation declined to 25.0 per cent in April from 26.5 per cent in March, while non-food inflation dropped to 17.9 per cent in April from 18.7 per cent in the previous month.On a month-on-month basis, food inflation rose to 0.9 per cent in April from a deflation of 0.2 per cent in March.

Non-food inflation remained unchanged at 0.7 per cent.Dr Iddrisu noted that inflation for locally produced items fell to 22.7 per cent in April from 24.0 per cent in March, while inflation for import­ed items declined to 17.7 per cent from 18.7 per cent over the same period.Additionally, he said the main drivers of inflation in April were food and non-alcoholic beverages (weight: 42.7 per cent), housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (10.2 per cent), transport (10.5 per cent), clothing and footwear (8.0 per cent), and alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics (3.9 per cent).According to Dr Iddrisu, bus and trotro fares contributed significantly to inflation in the month under review, while sectors such as insurance and financial services (0.4 per cent), health (0.7 per cent), information and communication (3.6 per cent), and personal care and social protection (2.5 per cent) contributed the least to inflation.On regional performance, the Volta Region recorded the lowest inflation rate of 18.3 per cent in April, down from 18.9 per cent in March.The Upper West Region, however, posted the highest rate at 37.1 per cent, up from 36.2 per cent in the previous month.Dr Iddrisu then described the sustained decline in year-on-year inflation as a positive signal, indicating moderating inflationary pressures, and cautioned that the month-on-month increase calls for vigilance."The overall outlook is cautiously optimistic, with opportunities to consolidate the gains made and enhance economic resilience," he stated.Moreover, he advised households to manage their expenditures prudently, especially in light of price volatility in food and transport.

He also en­couraged businesses to take advantage of easing cost pressures to rebuild profit margins or pass on savings to consumers, particularly in sectors heavily reliant on transport and imported inputs.To the government, Dr Iddrisu urged the continuation of macroeconomic stability mea­sures and social intervention programmes such as the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP), Capitation Grant, and the School Feed­ing Programme to protect the real incomes of vulnerable population. BY KINGSLEY ASARE