A total of 7.73 tons of monetary gold worth US$480m added to reserves – BoG
From the beginning of the year to June 2023, the Bank of Ghana has built up US$1 billion in reserves, mainly coming from its gold purchase programme, and settlement of short-term liabilities, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Dr Ernest Addison has said.
Dr Addison further stated that Gross International Reserves, excluding encumbered assets and petroleum funds, improved to US$2,353.95 million equivalent to 1.1 months of import cover, compared with US$1,440.0 million, 0.6 months of import cover, recorded at the end of December 2022.
The Bank’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme was launched in June 2021 with the key objective of shoring up the Bank of Ghana’s foreign reserves by purchasing domestically produced gold and converting same into foreign assets.
“Since inception of the programme, a total of 7.73 tons of monetary gold, valued at approximately US$480 million, has been added to reserves under the Gold for Reserves programme, well ahead of the target of doubling the gold holdings in 5 years,” Dr Addison revealed during the 113th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference in Accra on Monday, July 24.
He further stated that prices of Ghana’s major export commodities (cocoa, gold and crude oil) traded mixed on the international market in the first half year. Cocoa prices surged to record highs last seen over a decade ago, triggered by tight supplies from West Africa coupled with expectations of a global deficit in the 2022/2023 crop season.
On a year-to-date basis, cocoa beans gained 25.5 percent to settle at US$3,185.29 per tonne in June 2023.
International benchmark crude oil prices lost 7.8 percent in the year to close at US$74.98 per barrel due to concerns that sluggish global growth could reduce energy demand. However, decisions by OPEC+ to deepen production cuts
moderated the losses somewhat.
The price of gold went up by 8.1 percent year-to-date to settle at US$1,942.07 per fine ounce as increased fears over global recession and possible slower interest rate hikes in the United States loom. Increased demand for the metal from China also helped push up prices.