• The report also said lending rates of banks declined to 20.9 per cent in April 2021, compared to 22.4 per cent recorded in the same period of 2020
• Inflation dropped sharply to 8.5 per cent in April 2021
The Bank of Ghana has stated that the prices of some commodities on the market traded well despite some setbacks due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
According to a report issued by the Bank of Ghana after the Monetary Policy Committee conference, Crude oil prices increased by 30.0% to US$65.3 per barrel in April 2021, supported by production restraints amid re-opened economies.
Gold prices declined by 5.3 per cent to US$1,760.7 per ounce on account of stronger US Dollar and rising US Treasury yields. Cocoa prices eased to US$2,419.5 per tonne compared to US$2,523.9 per tonne due to increased supply in Ivory Coast.
The report also stated that the Ghana Cedi appreciated by 0.5 per cent against the US dollar in the year to April 2021, compared with a depreciation of 1.2 per cent in the same period of 2020.
However, headline inflation dropped sharply to 8.5 per cent in April 2021, mainly driven by lower food prices and base drift effects, from 10.3 per cent in March. Food inflation dipped markedly to 6.5 per cent in April from 8.8 per cent in March, while Non-food inflation rose to 10.2 per cent from 10.0 per cent.
Similar to headline inflation trends, underlying inflation pressures, gauged by the Bank’s core inflation measure, which excludes energy and utility, eased in April 2021.
Below is the full report from BoG:
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