Accra, May 15, GNA - Ghana's year-on-year annual inflation rate rose marginally to 20.56 per cent in April, up from its five-year high of 20.53 per cent a month earlier, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) said on Friday.

Record high prices for oil and rising food prices pushed retail prices up last year, pushing inflation up for the last six months in a row despite sharp falls in oil prices. Dr Grace Bediako, Government Statistician, who announced the new rate, however, expressed hope that inflation in the coming months would remain steady, or go down.

"It looks more like it's staying at this level and our hope is that it should hold or go down in the coming months," Dr Bediako said. The Bank of Ghana Monetary Policy Committee last Tuesday held the prime interest rate unchanged at a five-year high of 18.5 per cent and predicted that inflation rate would fall steadily to around 12.5 per cent by the end of the year. 15 May 09