a. Local gold prices have two main determinants – world market price and exchange rate.

b. For decades, ASM gold has been traded in Ghana at the prevailing retail market exchange rate, a standard practice for nonbank transactions. At the outset of the G4R programme in 2022, the BoG, through its Aggregators, bought gold at prevailing retail market exchange rate in order to be competitive.

c. Upon its establishment in 2025, the GoldBod sought to use its market regulation powers to change this longstanding practice so as to reduce programme cost.

The GoldBod has therefore sought to reduce the buying exchange rate from the prevailing retail market rate to interbank rate. However, price trends in neighboring countries and counter prices offered by smugglers, compel the GoldBod and the BoG to introduce bonuses for licensed miners from time to time as a disincentive for smuggling.

Consequently, the BoG currently buys ASM gold through the GoldBod at near retail market exchange rate. This initiative has reduced but not eliminated programme cost.

d. While gold is bought by the BoG at near retail market exchange rate, all FX inflows by law must be recorded in

BoG’s books at interbank rate, which is always lower than the retail market exchange rate. This creates an exchange rate translational differential that accounts for the bulk of losses under the G4R programme.

These are not trading or operational losses, but legitimate ECONOMIC POLICY COST incurred as a result of a policy-driven intervention to accumulate foreign reserves using realistic market incentives.

e. Also, the BoG through its Aggregator, buys gold at spot world market prices, as a deliberate policy to fend off smugglers so that it can mop up adequate ASM gold and foreign reserves for national economic stability.

f. Spot price purchases occasion cost that accounts for about 2.5% of reported G4R losses. This cost is made up of off-take discount (1.1%) covering freight, insurance, handling charges, market discount etc. offered by the BoG to its off-takers, purity losses (0.1-0.5%) between XRF assay conducted in Ghana vis-à-vis Fire Assay in destination countries and fees paid to the GoldBod (assay fee of 0.258% and service charge of 0.5%) acting as the official aggregator of the BoG.

g. GoldBod’s pricing formula, is approved by the BoG and carefully thought-through. It aims at achieving the G4R programme goal of foreign reserve accumulation for national economic stability. In a spirit of transparency, GoldBod publishes real-time local gold prices on its website, a practice new to the industry.