Bank of Ghana flags gold export slowdown and thinner reserves as MPC weighs 14% policy rate

Pinned summary · as of 06:12

The Bank of Ghana opened its 132nd Monetary Policy Committee meeting with a warning that slower gold shipments, and a pause in Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) exports since mid-August, are adding strain to the country's external position. Governor Johnson Pandit Asiama said the committee is weighing whether the 14% policy rate still fits the moment.

What we know

• Governor Johnson Pandit Asiama used the start of the meeting to say that slower gold shipments, together with GoldBod holding back exports from mid-August, were adding pressure to Ghana's external position.
• The committee is examining whether a policy rate of 14% is still suitable, at a time of rising inflation and shifting global conditions.
• Asiama said the weaker current account, falling reserves and the export pause call for close watching before foreign exchange demand usually climbs in the fourth quarter. He put gross international reserves at roughly 4.2 months of import cover.
• The governor expects the current account to slip into deficit in the third quarter, because gold shipments are weakening while payments for services grow.
• Restoring the reserve buffer will be a top focus for the central bank in the months ahead, Asiama said.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

• ?
  The governor's remarks on gold exports have been reported differently. The Vaultz News and The Ghana Report said exports had been paused since mid-August. Ghana Business News and MyJoyOnline, covering his press briefing on Thursday, said he told reporters that exports never stopped and were only less regular than in the previous two quarters, with regular shipments back in September and a significant volume sent out the week before.
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  The Vaultz News reported that GoldBod earned US.315 billion of foreign currency during August, with US68.21 million going to commercial banks and US46.59 million set aside for the Bank of Ghana's reserve build-up. Other reports have not confirmed the split.
• ?
  Ghana Business News and MyJoyOnline reported that at the end of August the country's gross reserves were US1.07 billion, or 4.2 months of import cover, and had climbed to US2.05 billion, or 4.5 months, by 22 September. Neither figure has been confirmed by other reports.
• ?
  According to Ghana Business News and MyJoyOnline, Asiama said irregular shipments were not a major logistical risk. He pointed instead to international gold prices, which Ghana cannot control, and to geopolitical tensions and heavy energy payments. He added that steady gold prices would keep shipments supporting reserves.
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  Ghana Business News and MyJoyOnline reported that Asiama described a rule-based framework for foreign exchange intervention resting on reserve accumulation, intervention and intermediation. They said he called it a medium-term design that has been refined over the past month, with GoldBod expected to take a role in intermediation before the final version is shared with the market.
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  Ghana Business News and MyJoyOnline cited the Bank of Ghana's September 2026 economic data as showing official gold reserves up from 24.4 tonnes (US$3.652 billion) in June to 25.2 tonnes (US$3.565 billion) in August. They also gave US$22.44 billion as a total for August and a US$5.11 billion current account surplus for June; one report called the US$22.44 billion Ghana's total exports, the other its total gold exports.
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  The Vaultz News reported the governor as saying Brent crude had climbed from above US$85 a barrel at the July committee round to about US$107 the previous week. The same report gave headline inflation as rising from 3.2% in March to 5.0% in August, put the bank's medium-term target band at 6% to 10%, and said transport fares had recently gone up by 8%. None of these figures has been confirmed by other reports.
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  The Vaultz News also reported Asiama as saying that domestic conditions leave room for policy action but the external position limits how much can safely be used. He was said to have warned that higher government spending could mean more short-term domestic borrowing and extra liquidity, and that finishing the external debt restructuring could lift debt-service payments. The report said a policy decision was expected on Thursday.
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  Ghana Business News reported, and MyJoyOnline repeated, that a GoldBod policy in force since 1 September 2026 bars exports of unrefined gold dore, citing Act 1140, the Ghana Gold Board Act of 2025. They said self-financing aggregators must have dore refined at a GoldBod-approved local refinery before export approval, and that offtake agreements must require local refining or risk licence suspension or revocation.

Why it matters for Ghana

Gold is one of the main sources of the foreign exchange that Ghanaian importers need, so any drop in shipments can tighten supply of dollars for businesses and, in turn, prices in the shops. The committee's decision on the 14% policy rate will also shape what borrowers pay on loans and what savers earn. The central bank has flagged the last three months of the year as a time when demand for foreign currency usually picks up.