BoG Deploys AI to Improve Inflation Forecasting, Economic Data Gathering – Deputy Governor
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has deployed Artificial Intelligence to strengthen its inflation forecasting and improve the way it gathers and analyses economic data.
First Deputy Governor Dr Zakari Mumuni said the technology is part of the central bank’s wider adoption of modelling tools and big data technologies.
He said the tools are helping the Bank improve its forecasts and provide better information for monetary policy decisions.
Dr Mumuni disclosed this at the 4th Annual Statistics and Data Science Conference in Tamale.
According to him, the use of AI and other modelling tools has helped the Bank improve the accuracy of its inflation predictions, including forecasts made ahead of official data releases.
“We also employ machine-learning models to complement standard econometric models in forecasting GDP and performing text-mining analytics.”
He said technology is also changing the way financial supervision is conducted.
“Where supervisors previously relied heavily on static monthly spreadsheets requiring manual reconciliation, increasingly granular data can be validated as it arrives, allowing risks to be identified earlier.”
Dr Mumuni explained that the Bank also uses econometric techniques and its Quarterly Projection Model to assess economic developments and guide policy choices.
“Through econometric techniques and our Quarterly Projection Model within a Forecast and Policy Analysis System, we identify emerging trends, assess risks and consider the likely outcomes of different policy choices.”
However, he cautioned that technological tools cannot replace human judgement in economic policymaking.
“Technology can strengthen our intelligence, but it does not remove the need for human judgment.”
He recalled the charge given by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana during his swearing-in in February 2025 to adopt a more proactive approach to managing inflation.
The Governor had said the Bank would “adopt a more proactive and precise approach to managing inflation, leveraging advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence.”
Dr Mumuni said the challenge confronting policymakers is no longer simply the availability of data, but how to turn large volumes of information into useful intelligence.
“The greatest challenge facing policymakers today is no longer a shortage of data, but rather turning an abundance of data into timely, reliable and actionable intelligence.”
He stressed that data alone does not make policy.
The First Deputy Governor also said the Bank continues to collect information directly from communities and businesses across the country.
“Long before a survey appears in a published report, our Research Department staff are in markets across the country—including here in Tamale—tracking prices and conducting business and consumer confidence surveys.”
“It means staff spending nights away from home so that when the Monetary Policy Committee sits, it reasons from the country’s economic experience, not Accra’s alone,” he added.
Dr Mumuni urged statisticians and researchers to ensure new technologies complement, rather than replace, sound statistical methods.
“New data should complement—not replace—properly weighted and nationally representative measures.”
He also encouraged researchers and policymakers to work more closely together.
“Researchers should understand the questions confronting policymakers, while policymakers should remain open to researchers who ask uncomfortable questions of the data.”
Source: JoyNews
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