Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, is preparing to hedge its gold exports in an effort to protect the earnings that have played a major role in strengthening the country’s foreign reserves.
According to Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiama, the plan is being developed as a strategic move to safeguard the gains made from gold exports, which have contributed significantly to the country’s growing gross international reserves.
Speaking in Accra, Asiama said that rising gold production and favorable global prices have helped push the country’s reserves to $11.1 billion as of June 2025, an amount sufficient to cover 4.8 months of imports.
The Bank of Ghana reported that the country’s gold reserves rose to 32.99 tonnes at the end of June, up from 32.16 tonnes in May, showing a steady effort to strengthen foreign exchange buffers.
Ghana’s gold exports surged 76% year-on-year to $5.2 billion in the first four months through April, according to Bloomberg.
This sharp increase helped widen the country’s trade surplus to $4.1 billion, a significant rise from the $759 million recorded during the same period last year.
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The strong export performance, combined with the government’s ongoing efforts toward fiscal consolidation, has fueled a more than 40% rally in the cedi against the US dollar in 2025.
Bloomberg reported that this makes the cedi the second-best performing currency globally among those it tracks.
Meanwhile, inflation has dropped to its lowest level in three years, reaching 18.4% in May, down from 21.2% in April.
The decline is attributed to the stronger local currency and reduced costs of imports.
In addition to gold-related policies, Governor Asiama also announced that Ghana is finalizing a regulatory framework to govern cryptocurrency activities in the country.
The move is aimed at placing digital asset platforms and exchanges under formal oversight to ensure investor protection and financial stability.
“Crypto is here. The question is how do we manage it, not whether to ban it,” Asiama said.
“The Bank is not anti-innovation. We only seek to ensure that digital financial products do not undermine confidence in the monetary system or facilitate illicit transactions.”
By advancing this regulatory approach, Ghana is positioning itself among a small but growing number of African countries taking proactive steps to regulate digital currencies.
Asiama stated that the framework will bring virtual currencies under the central bank’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policies, ensuring that digital innovation supports rather than weakens foreign exchange controls and monetary stability.
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Image Credit: Accra Street Journal
