The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, says that the apex bank is better positioned to cushion the country’s economy against external shocks and provide stability in the foreign exchange market.
Dr Addison disclosed that both the bank’s reserve build-up had been strong and the external payments position improved in the first half of the year.
The BoG governor told a news conference in Accra that the current account surplus significantly improved, aided by strong gold exports, robust remittances, and effect of the debt suspension.
According to him, this development, along with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, helped accumulate reserves faster than envisaged under the IMF-supported programme.
Dr Addison, who is the chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) stated that the monetary policy rate, the rate at which the central bank lends to commercial banks, is pegged at 29 per cent.
He said there had been significant build-up in the country’s international reserves during the first six months of the year and the country’s Gross International Reserves (GIR) stood at $6.87 billion at the end of June.
“GIR increased by $947 million to $6.87 billion at end-June 2024, equivalent to 3.1 months of import cover. Net International Reserves also increased by $1.31 billion to $4.50 billion at end-June 2024. The higher build-up in Gross International Reserves was aided by the strong performance of the domestic gold purchase programme,” he stated.
The report by the Ghanaian Times quoted the BoG Governor as saying that prices of Ghana’s major export commodities traded mixed on the international market with Cocoa price futures bounced back after declining by 19.2 per cent in May 2024, to $9,022.6 per tonne, representing 1.1 per cent growth in June 2024.
He stated that crude oil prices remained broadly stable in June 2024 with an average price of $83.01 per barrel, while spot gold prices, however, dropped marginally by 1.1 per cent to close at an average price of US$2,325.34 per fine ounce in June 2024.
GIK/APA
BOG is better positioned to cushion economy against external shocks – Governor
