The Producer Price Inflation (PPI) for August 2015 saw a decline from the 10.2 per cent recorded in July 2015 to 4.4 per cent.
The figure represents a 5.8 percentage point decrease.
This means that the month-on-month change in Producer Price Index (PPI) between July and August 2015 was -3.4 per cent.
Producer inflation, which is measured by the price index, looks at the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers for the production of their goods and services.
Briefing the media in Accra, the Government Statistician, Dr Philomena Nyarko, attributed the decrease to the decline in the prices of crude and gold on the world market.
Manufacturing, which constitutes more than two-thirds of total industry, decreased by 8.8 percentage points to record 4.1 per cent over the July rate of 8.4 per cent.
Manufacture of paper and paper products recorded the highest inflation rate of 48.7 per cent, while the manufacture of coke, refined petroleum and nuclear recorded the lowest producer price inflation rate.
The producer price inflation in the mining and quarrying sub-sectors decreased slightly by 0.2 percentage points over the July 2015 rate of 1.5 per cent.
The utilities sub-sector also recorded an inflation rate of 8.4 per cent in August 2015, indicating an increase of 1.1 percentage points over the July rate of 7.3 per cent.
Petroleum price index
The inflation rate in the petroleum sub-sector was 68.6 per cent in August 2014 and thereafter fluctuated until November 2014, when it recorded a rate of 61.1 per cent.
Subsequently, the rate steadily declined to record -8.7 in March 2015 and -9.6 per cent in May 2015 as a result of base drift effect, and the decrease in ex-refinery prices of petroleum products.
In June 2015, the rate, however, increased to record -0.01 per cent as a result of the increase in petroleum prices, but decreased to -6.4 per cent in July 2015 also due to base drift effect.
In August 2015, the rate declined to -28.0 per cent due to the decrease in the prices of petroleum products.
Trends
Dr Nyarko stated that the year-on-year inflation in ex-factory prices of goods and services was 4.4 per cent for August 2015.
From September 2014, the producer price inflation consistently declined to record 19.2 per cent in March 2015.
It inched up to record 19.5 per cent in April 2015, and then declined to 18.8 per cent in May 2015.
It, however, increased in June 2015 to record 23.1 per cent.
The rate declined again to 10.2 per cent in July 2015, and subsequently declined to 4.4 per cent in August 2015.
Source: Graphic