Ghana Central Bank to Prioritise Rebuilding Reserves as Gold Exports Stall

Ghana's central bank will make rebuilding its foreign exchange reserves a priority in the months ahead, Governor Johnson Asiama said, as the country contends with a weaker current account, shrinking reserves and a halt in gold exports by state buyer GoldBod since August.

Speaking at the opening of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Asiama said policymakers must weigh broadly favourable domestic conditions against a global environment made more uncertain by the Middle East conflict and rising oil prices.

He pointed to the weaker current account, the decline in reserves and the suspension of GoldBod's gold exports as reasons for a careful review of the country's buffers before the customary pickup in foreign exchange demand in the fourth quarter.

"Rebuilding reserves will be a key priority for the bank in the coming months indeed," Asiama said.

Ghana's gold reserves stood at 24.4 metric tons in June 2026, down from 33 tons a year earlier. The decline reflects gold sales during 2025 as well as purchases from large-scale miners that fell short of targets.

Under the domestic gold purchase programme, GoldBod aggregates locally mined gold for export and reserve accumulation, transferring part of the bullion to the central bank to strengthen reserves and support the cedi.

In May, Ghana raised the share of annual output that large-scale gold miners must sell to the central bank to 30%, up from 20%, as part of a renewed effort to build reserves.

The reserve concerns come against a backdrop of slower growth. Ghana's economy expanded by 6.0% in the second quarter of 2026, down from a revised 6.6% in the same period a year earlier, the Ghana Statistical Service said earlier this month.