Inside December 11, 2020

Inside December 11, 2020.qxp_Layout 1 12/10/20 8:09 PM Page 8
11ND
DECEMBER
2020
THURSDAY
CURRENCY PARIS CODE BUYING SELLING
US Dollar USDGHS 5.6830 5.6886
RATES Pound Sterling GBPGHS
7.5572
7.5653
Euro
GBPGHS
6.7229
6.7289
10
DAILY HERITAGE FRIDAY , DECEMBER 11, 2020
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Inflation for Nov pegged at 9.8%
BY ROSEMOND BOATENG ADDAI
Rosemond.adjetey@yahoo.com
THE YEAR-ON-
YEAR inflation rate
for the month of
November 2020
slowed for the
fourth consecutive
time to 9.8 per cent compared
with 10.1% the previous month.
Professor Samuel Annim, the
Government Statistician of the
Ghana Statistical Service, said the
drop was as a result of post-
COVID-19.
According to him, the monthon-month
inflation was 0.3%.
The Government Statistician
explained that food inflation rate
stood at 11.7% and non-food inflation
was 8.3%.
He also pointed out that inflation
in locally-produced items
stood at 11.5% and imported
items at 5.6%.
Prof. Annim said stark variation
continued to exist across regions,
and source and type of items.
At the regional level, the overall
year-on-year inflation ranged from
3.4%in the Upper West and Volta
Regions to 15.2% in Greater
Accra.
The Government Statistician
•Professor Samuel Annim
said Greater Accra was the only region
which recorded a food inflation
rate of 13.7%.
At the regional level,
the overall year-on-year
inflation ranged from
3.4%in the Upper West
and Volta Regions to
15.2% in Greater Accra.
COVID-19
Airlines to lose US$66 per passenger–IATA
AIRLINES ARE projected to
lose US$66 for every passenger
carried for the rest of this year
due to what the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) describes
as the “unrelenting” nature
of the crisis faced by airlineS
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The projected loss translates
into US$118.5 billion this year for
airlines. The losses may, however,
reduce significantly next year if
countries re-open their borders to
travelers by mid-2021.
“Assuming borders re-open by
mid-2021, the industry will ‘only’
lose US$38.7 billion in 2021. Now
is the time for governments to
step up. The US$173 billion of
support provided to date has enabled
the industry to survive, but
more is required to carry the industry
through to next summer.
“IATA has identified a range
of market stimulation options
that will support the viability of
air routes while encouraging people
to travel. Without aviation’s
$3.5 trillion contribution to global
GDP, there can be no broader
economic recovery,” said Alexandre
de Juniac, IATA’s Director
General and CEO.
Total demand was down 70.6%
compared to October 2019. This
was just a modest improvement
from the 72.2% year-to-year decline
recorded in September.
Capacity was down 59.9%
compared to a year ago and load
factor fell 21.8% points to 60.2%.
International passenger demand
in October was down
87.8% compared to October
2019, virtually unchanged from
the 88.0% year-to-year decline
recorded in September.
Capacity was 76.9% below previous
year levels, and load factor
shrank 38.3% points to 42.9%.
Domestic demand drove what
little recovery there was, with October
domestic traffic down
40.8% compared to the prior year.
This was improved from a 43.0%
year-to-year decline in September.
Capacity was 29.7% below 2019
levels and the load factor dropped
13.2% points to 70.4%.
“Fresh outbreaks of COVID-
19 and governments’ continued
reliance on heavy-handed quarantines
resulted in another catastrophic
month for air travel
demand. While the pace of recovery
is faster in some regions than
others, the overall picture for international
travel is grim.
This uneven recovery is more
pronounced in domestic markets,
with China’s domestic market
having nearly recovered, while
most others remain deeply depressed,”
de Juniac, IATA’s Director
General and CEO added.
African airlines’ traffic sank
78.6% in October, improved from
an 84.9% drop in September and
was the best performance among
the regions. Capacity contracted
67.5%, and load factor fell 23.8
percentage points to 45.5%.