Reserve Buffers Continue To Improve- BoG

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has allayed fears about the cedi’s welfare in the face of rising demand for United States (US) dollars.

According to BoG, it has improved international reserve buffers to support the demand.

A report released by the Bank after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on March 25 said the stock of Gross International Reserves (GIR), as of the end of February 2024, increased further to US$6.2 billion.

This, it said, is enough to cover 2.8 months of imports of goods and services and up from the stock position of US$5.9 billion (2.7 months of import cover) at the end of December 2023.

It comes as pressure continues to mount on the cedi, in the first quarter of 2024 sponsoring of a 6.8 per cent cedi depreciation against the US dollar since the beginning of the year.

The Bank says despite the pressure, the cedi continues to recover its value against foreign currencies.

“The foreign exchange market came under some seasonal pressures in February and early March 2024, but the Ghana cedi continues to recover its value. The pressures emanated mainly from the strengthening of the US dollar in international markets, and payments made for the energy and corporate sectors.

“These were compounded by delays and uncertainties associated with the second tranche of the cocoa loan inflow and World Bank’s disbursement of Budget Support. These pressures have been mitigated somewhat by continued inflows from remittances and mining companies and from the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.”