Accra, April 28, GNA - The producer Price Index (PPI) for March 2010 reports as released by the Ghana Statistical Services indicated that mining and quarrying sector recorded the highest year-on-year inflation of 24.04 per cent.

This was followed by the manufacturing sector with 23.53 per cent and then the utilities with 0.20 percent.

The PPI measures the average change overtime in the prices received by domestic producers for the production of their goods and services with much emphasis on the three main sub sectors of industry. These include Mining and Quarrying, Manufacturing and Utilities. Addressing the media during the monthly PPI release on Wednesday, Mr. Magnus Ebo Duncan, Director, Economic and Industrial Statistics Group of the Ghana Statistical Service, said since January 2010 inflation rate had continued to decrease.

"Mining and manufacturing recorded positive monthly change of 1.39 percent, 0.24 percent respectively whiles utilities recorded a negative rate of -0.03 percent", he said.

Mr. Duncan said in the manufacturing sub sector, the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products recorded the highest inflation while the manufacture of wood and wooden products recorded a negative price change. He said with the Mining and Quarrying sub sector, mining of metal ore recorded the highest and this had contributed largely to the direction of inflation in the sector. He said the percentage change in the PPI between February 2010 and March 2010 was 0.44 percent thus making the year-on-year inflation from the producers' perspective for all industry for March 2010 stood at 19.58 percent with the monthly rate of 0.44 percent.