The Bank of Ghana (BoG) says it is fully committed to the global shift towards commodities in building strong reserve buffers.
To this end, it said it was looking forward to working with various partners to leverage all potential benefits from them.
“The global economy has entered a new era, where commodities are not just exported, but strategically leveraged to build resilience, unlock liquidity, and drive inclusive growth,” the First Deputy Governor of the BoG, Dr Zakari Mumuni, has stated.
He was speaking at CNVERGE ’25 – Africa’s Premier Trade Banking Thought Impact Event – in London last Wednesday on the topic “Leveraging Commodities-The Central Bank’s View.”
Dr Mumuni noted that in the past, policy perspectives on commodities were often downplayed.
However, he said within today’s uncertain and volatile global environment, they had garnered significant policy attention and now occupied a central position in finance, trade, and national development.
“Commodities are emerging as alternate policy tools for portfolio diversification, levers for economic growth, and as instruments of geopolitical influence,” he stressed.
He explained that, like many countries, Ghana’s economy was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine conflict, which exacerbated fiscal and debt vulnerabilities.
That Dr Mumuni said led to sovereign credit downgrades, loss of access to international capital markets, dwindling reserves, sharp currency depreciation, and high inflation.
“Faced with this economic crisis, the Bank of Ghana and the government recognised the need to rethink foreign exchange reserve strategies, not just to restore macroeconomic stability, but also to build resilience against perennial shocks,” he said.
Dr Mumuni said the BoG’s response was the launch of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) in June 2021, aimed at doubling the country’s gold reserves within five years, diversifying foreign exchange holdings, leveraging gold to raise cheaper short-term financing, and boosting confidence through stronger reserves.
“This programme was not just about reserve accumulation but also about unlocking the potential of the country’s commodity base,” Dr Mumuni noted.
The First Deputy Governor said by the end of June 2025, the central bank had purchased 145.95 tonnes of gold, sold 86.77 tonnes for foreign exchange, increased physical holdings from 8.74 tonnes to 32.99 tonnes, and utilised 27.63 tonnes to settle 1.95 million metric tonnes of petroleum products under the Gold for Oil (G4O) initiative.