The October rate, which is 2.5 percentage points lower than the 8.0 per cent recorded in October 2025, was driven primarily by a sharp increase in non-food inflation, which rose to 7.9 per cent from 6.2 per cent in September. 

This surge was largely fuelled by services inflation, which jumped to 11.5 per cent from 8.3 per cent, led by a significant 8.0 per cent month-on-month rise in transport prices, alongside increases in education and housing costs.

In contrast, food inflation eased to 2.8 per cent from 4.0 per cent in September, providing some relief to households.

Prices for several staple items actually fell compared to a year ago, with guinea corn and sorghum down 28.0 per cent, maize down 27.2 per cent, and local rice down 14.3 per cent. 

However, fresh tomatoes recorded a staggering 119.3 per cent increase.

The Government Statistician, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, noted that the month-on-month inflation rate was -0.1 per cent, indicating that on average, prices were slightly lower in October than in September, largely due to the drop in food prices. 

“Of every GH¢1 of price rise in October, about 76 pesewas came from non-food and 24 pesewas from food,” he explained, highlighting the disproportionate impact of services and goods on the overall cost of living.

The regional breakdown revealed significant disparities, with Ashanti Region recording the highest inflation rate at 9.7 per cent, while the Northern Region recorded the lowest at -0.5 per cent. Ashanti and Greater Accra together accounted for 60.2 per cent of the total inflation.

The data also showed that locally produced items drove inflation, rising by 6.9 per cent and accounting for 86.4 per cent of the total, while imported items rose by 2.4 per cent.

The Bank of Ghana has maintained its policy rate at 14 per cent, with the current inflation rate of 5.5 per cent remaining within its medium-term target band of 8 ± 2 per cent.