Ghana's Gross International Reserves (GIR) excluding Encumbered Assets and Petroleum Fund increased by 9.99% in the first two months of 2024 to $4.02 billion in February 2024.

This is equivalent to 1.8 month of import cover.

In December 2023, the Gross International Reserves stood at $3.66 billion, about 1.7% of import cover. It inched up to $4.17 billion in January 2024, but declined slightly to $4.02 billion in February 2024.

According to the Bank of Ghana’s March 2024 Summary of Economic and Financial Data, the country’s reserves have been growing consistently albeit slightly since August 2023.

Trade surplus estimated at $392m

Meanwhile, the country's trade surplus stood at $392.8 million, about 0.5% of Gross Domestic Product in February 2024.

This is lower than the $862.5 million (1.1% of GDP) recorded during the same period in 2023.

According to the data from the Bank of Ghana, total exports as of February 2024 were estimated at $2.86 billion, whilst total imports stood at $2.47 billion.

Gold sustained its dominance, recording $1.26 billion export value in February 2024, higher than the $1.08 billion recorded during the same period last year. It benefited from both volume and price increases.

Crude oil exports came second. It brought in $619.8 million as of February 2024, compared to $551.3 million in February 2023.

Proceeds from cocoa in February 2024 stood at $508.4 million, lower than the $711.5 million a year ago. This is on the back of lower volumes and price.

Other exports, including non-traditional exports, decreased marginally to an estimated value of $479.5 million in February 2024, as against $480.0 million a year ago.