Ghana’s Gross International Reserves increased by US$1.58 billion to US$7.50 billion at the end of August 2024, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana has revealed.

This is equivalent to 3.4 months of import cover.

Additionally, Net International Reserves also increased by US$1.73 billion to US$4.92 billion at end-August 2024.

According to the Central Bank, the higher build-up in Gross International Reserves was largely on account of the strong performance of the domestic gold purchase programme.

Trade surplus hits $2.78bn

Meanwhile, the external payment position was strong in the first eight months of 2024.

The trade balance recorded a provisional surplus of US$2.78 billion, higher than the surplus of US$1.66 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2023.

The surplus was primarily driven by an increase in gold and crude oil exports.

Total exports went up by 22.3% to US$12.92 billion.

Notably, gold exports rose by 62.2% to US$7.27 billion, while crude oil exports went up by 16.7% to US$2.77 billion.

In contrast, cocoa exports – both beans and products – fell by 42.7% to US$917.8 million in August 2024, mainly due to challenges posed by extreme weather conditions.

The total imports bill increased by 14.0% to US$10.14 billion over the same period.

Of the total, oil imports increased by 3.6% to US$3.0 billion, while non-oil imports went up by 19.0% to US$7.1 billion.