Trend Analysis of Consumer Price Index: Useful Lessons for Business Decision Making in Ghana?

Variations or irregular rise of consumer price index worldwide of which Ghana is no exception has affected many businesses in the country. However, the obvious indicator of an inflationary situation is rising prices of consumer goods. On the basis of the above, the researchers decided to do a trend analysis on consumer price indices obtained from the Ghana Statistical Service to serve as a guide to the business community in Ghana. The main objective of the analysis is to determine the overall pattern in the data and to subsequently fit an appropriate trend for forecasting future values. The main statistical technique used in this work is time series analysis. Based on the trend analysis carried out, the study revealed that, there was general upward trend in the CPIs in Ghana, collaborating an earlier research conducted by Ampofo. However, the shapes of graphs of the CPIs, showed a slight difference. Finally, forecast values or predictions for the CPIs were made for the year 2008.