The Producer Price Inflation (PPI) for May 2018 has increased to 7.1 percent.

The Government Statistician Mr. Baah Wadieh at a press conference explained that the increase was due to the rise in petroleum prices in the month of April.

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“It’s the result of increases in the inflation rate in the manufacturing sector. If you observe the inflation rate, the manufacturing subsector has gone up and that is accounting for what you see as the rise in all industry,” he said.

He further stated that the producer inflation rate in the petroleum subsector was -4.5 percent in May 2017.

He explained that it subsequently increased consistently to record 36.9 percent in October 2017, but declined to 27.7 percent in November 2017.

“The rate increased to 36.4 percent in December 2017 but declined to record 15.9 percent in March 2018.”

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He explained that the rate increased to 22.7 percent in April 2018 and then to 35.5 percent in May 2018.

“As was witnessed between April and May 2018 the inflation rate in the petroleum subsector went from 15.9 % to 25.5%, resulting in the inflation in the manufacturing sector.”

The PPI measures the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers for the production of their goods and services.