Ghana Sept consumer inflation rises to 17.4 pct yr/yr -stats office

Ghana's annual consumer price inflation rose slightly to 17.4 percent in September from 17.3 percent the previous month, the statistics office said on Wednesday.
The figure reflects fiscal problems facing the country, which is following a three-year aid programme with the International Monetary Fund aimed at restoring economic stability.
Inflation among non-food items declined to 23.2 percent in September from 23.4 percent in August while food inflation increased to 7.8 percent last month from 7.7 percent in August, government statistician Philomena Nyarko told a news conference.
The main drivers of non-food inflation included education at 29.6 percent, recreation and culture, while vegetables at 13.6 percent was the only item in the food group whose inflation was higher than average inflation, Nyarko told a news conference.
"Some components of the non-food group have really hiked as far as their levels of inflation, like education and housing and utilities, and that's what's driving the overall inflation up," Nyarko said.
Ghana had one of Africa's fastest growing economies based on exports of gold, cocoa and oil but GDP growth has slumped since 2014 due to lower global commodity prices and a fiscal crisis that has seen its debt-to-GDP ratio rise to nearly 70 percent.
The government launched a $1 billion Eurobond last week with a coupon rate of 10.75 percent, higher than it had initially hoped for.