Crude oil price rebound, gold and cocoa price decline – BoG report

• The Bank of Ghana said the Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) grew strongly by 26.8 percent in March 2021, against a contraction of 1.9 percent a year earlier

• Inflation dropped sharply to 8.5 percent 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 circular issued by the Bank of Ghana after the 100th Monetary Policy Committee conference showed 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 percent 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 circular also stated that the Ghana Cedi appreciated by 0.5 percent against the US dollar in the year to April 2021, compared with a depreciation of 1.2 percent in the same period of 2020.

However, headline inflation dropped sharply to 8.5 percent in April 2021, mainly driven by lower food prices and base drift effects, from 10.3 percent in March. Food inflation dipped markedly to 6.5 percent in April from 8.8 percent in March, while Non-food inflation rose to 10.2 percent from 10.0 percent.

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 circular from Bank of Ghana: