Ghana inflation falls to 11.5 pct y/y in Aug, slips from three-year high in July

Ghana's consumer price inflation fell to 11.5 percent in August from a three-year high of 11.8 percent in July as prices for non-food items including communication dipped, the West African country's statistics office said on Wednesday. 

Ghana finance minister, Tekper

   The August inflation figure was within Ghana Central Bank's target band of 2 percentage points either side of 9 percent. 
   "Given the pressure seen on the cedi, with expectations of further weakness in the fourth quarter, it is unlikely that food prices alone will be sufficient to hold back the rise in inflation," said Razia Khan, head of Africa research for Standard Chartered Bank. 
   "Consequently, we still see the Bank of Ghana having to tighten further this year," Khan said. 
   Ghana's economy is projected to grow at 8 percent for 2013 but economists are concerned about macroeconomic instability due in part to its high deficit, which is this year targeted fall to 9 percent from 11.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2012.