Ghana’s building inflation holds steady at 2.2% in April 2026

The Ghana Statistical Service says Ghana’s building inflation remained unchanged at 2.2 percent in April 2026, reflecting relative stability in construction costs despite increases in some key building materials.

According to the latest Prime Building Cost Index (PBCI) report released on May 27, 2026, the PBCI rose to 136.1 in April 2026 from 133.2 in April 2025. This means the average cost of building materials increased by 2.2 percent over the one-year period.

On a month-on-month basis, prices of building inputs increased by 1.5 percent between March and April 2026.

The report identified glazing, plumbing, roofing sheets and electrical works as the major drivers of inflation in the construction sector. Glazing recorded the highest year-on-year inflation of 16.2 percent, followed by plumbing at 14.5 percent and roofing sheets at 13 percent.

Electrical works remained the biggest contributor to overall inflation in the sector, accounting for 52.8 percent of total inflation contribution. Glazing contributed 37.4 percent while metalwork and plumbing contributed 23 percent and 22.3 percent respectively.

However, some major construction materials recorded price declines. Cement inflation fell to negative 11.2 percent, while steel recorded negative 3.6 percent inflation.

The report further noted that labour inflation slowed to 1 percent in April 2026 from 1.6 percent in March 2026, although labour costs still increased by 0.8 percent on a monthly basis.

Government Statistician, Alhassan Iddrisu, said the revised PBCI now uses 2023 as the base year and tracks 406 items across 16 regions to provide more accurate and timely data on construction cost trends in Ghana.

The Ghana Statistical Service advised households planning to build to take advantage of lower prices for materials such as cement and steel, while carefully budgeting for high-cost items including glazing, plumbing and roofing sheets.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)