Inflation To Settle At 13.1% - BoG

Bank of Ghana (BoG) says it is optimistic that the 2013 end year inflation will settle at 13.1%, although it is above the target band of 9.2%, which has breached this year�s target. According to the governor of the BoG, Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, "our forecasts show that inflation will track back to the target band of 9.2% by the end of 2014, barring any new shocks". The central bank says the risks identified earlier had actually crystallised in the form of pass-through of petroleum price and electricity tariff adjustments, as well as continued fiscal and exchange rate pressures. However, it is expected that the fiscal measures announced in the 2014 budget, if realised, would mitigate some of the pressures. Headline inflation rose from 11.5% in August to 13.1% in October. Non-food inflation was the main driver as it picked up from 14.2% to 17.7% while food inflation declined from 7.9% to 6.9%. Interest rates in the country remained stable in the wake of Bank of Ghana's decision to maintain the policy rate at 16%.