Accra, Oct 3 (IANS): Ghana's annual inflation rate rose to 21.5 per cent in September from 20.4 per cent in August.

"The rise in inflation in September reversed the consistent drop in the inflation rate over the five months from April to August," Samuel Kobinna Annim, the government statistician at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) said on Wednesday during a monthly briefing.

Annim noted that the increase was due to higher food inflation in September.

Compared to August, food inflation climbed 3.0 percentage points to 22.1 per cent in September, while non-food inflation declined by 0.6 percentage points to 20.9 per cent.

Last week, Ghana's central bank announced a 200 basis-point cut in the benchmark policy rate to 27 per cent, down from 29 per cent in January, as inflation eased for five straight months since April.

Bank of Ghana Governor Ernest Addison explained that the country's economic fundamentals have started responding to ongoing reforms supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the headline inflation declining cumulatively by 5.4 percentage points since April.

In May 2023, the Ghanaian government secured a loan of $3 billion from the IMF to revive its economy, which was struggling with ballooning debts, exchange rate depreciation, and surging inflation.