 sold a staggering $1.4 billion in foreign exchange during the first quarter of 2025, surpassing its entire 2023 intervention total and signaling a deepening presence in the FX market, according to the latest review of Ghana’s IMF-supported programme.){kind=link}
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) sold a staggering $1.4 billion in foreign exchange during the first quarter of 2025, surpassing its entire 2023 intervention total and signaling a deepening presence in the FX market, according to the latest review of Ghana’s IMF-supported programme.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its assessment, noted a “sharp acceleration” in the Bank’s market activity, flagging concerns over the scale of intervention. The Fund is urging the BoG to reduce its direct role in the forex market and instead promote greater exchange rate flexibility. It has also recommended a formal internal intervention framework to enhance transparency and predictability.
BoG officials, when contacted by JoyNews Research in May, explained that the heightened dollar sales were driven by persistent obligations in the energy sector. These include regular payments to independent power producers, fuel suppliers like the West African Gas Pipeline Company, and importers of refined petroleum products. Fuel imports alone are estimated to cost around $400 million per month — roughly $1.2 billion per quarter — mirroring the Bank’s first-quarter intervention.
Despite the aggressive FX sales, the BoG is benefiting from robust foreign exchange inflows. Higher global gold prices, increased purchases under Ghana’s gold-for-reserves programme, improved remittances, and stronger cocoa earnings have boosted gross international reserves to $10.6 billion, equivalent to 4.7 months of import cover.
This cushion appears to have emboldened the central bank’s support for the cedi, which has appreciated sharply since the start of the year. The currency, which opened 2025 at GH₵14.7 to the dollar, is now trading at GH₵10.37 — making it the world’s best-performing currency so far this year.
Market analysts credit the rally in part to a softer U.S. dollar under President Trump’s economic policies, but more substantially to Ghana’s tight fiscal discipline and booming gold revenues. However, they caution that the magnitude of BoG’s intervention is playing an outsized role in the cedi’s performance.
If the current pace continues, the central bank could end the year having sold approximately $5.6 billion in foreign exchange — nearly double the $3 billion injected in 2024, $2 billion of which was sold in the final quarter ahead of the general election.
But the IMF warns that this strategy carries risks. A heavy reliance on commodity windfalls, such as gold and cocoa, makes Ghana vulnerable to external shocks. Should prices fall or reserves dwindle, the cedi could come under renewed pressure.
“While fiscal and monetary discipline have helped so far, a more rules-based approach to forex management will be essential,” the IMF emphasized. “Without it, Ghana risks swinging from intervention-led stability to sharp volatility if inflows fall short.”
The cedi’s recent strength is a welcome sign of macroeconomic resilience. However, analysts and policymakers alike agree that without a clearer, structured plan guiding the BoG’s forex interventions, the current gains could prove fragile.