Latest news with #BankofGhana
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Ghana projected to hit single-digit inflation by end of 2025
Ghana is projected to end 2025 with inflation falling into single digits, potentially dropping below the Bank of Ghana's revised year-end target of 12%, according to Deloitte's latest West Africa Inflation Update. Ghana's inflation rate projected to fall below the Bank of Ghana's year-end target by 2025. Sustained disinflationary trends may lead to interest rate easing, promoting economic growth. June 2025 saw significant inflation improvements due to lower fuel prices and exchange rate appreciation. The professional services firm cited a 'sustained disinflationary trend', which it believes offers the Bank of Ghana sufficient flexibility to begin easing interest rates—possibly as early as the July Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. 'An ease in interest rates will encourage more lending to the real sector and support further output and overall economic growth,' Deloitte noted. The report further highlighted that the ongoing implementation of fiscal consolidation measures, alongside additional monetary policy adjustments, is expected to ensure continued downward pressure on inflation throughout the second half of 2025. However, Deloitte warned of possible upside risks. These include global economic shocks and domestic tariff adjustments, such as the recent 2.45% increase in electricity tariffs, which are likely to raise production costs and prices of goods and services. Another concern is the implementation of the GH¢1.00 fuel levy on petroleum products, which the firm said poses an 'upside risk' due to its potential to drive up fuel and transportation costs. Ghana's headline inflation for June 2025 fell to 13.7%, down significantly from 18.4% in May. This improvement was largely attributed to declining domestic fuel prices, reduced transport costs, falling food prices, and the appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi. Month-on-month inflation also mirrored this trend, registering a deflation of -1.2%—the first since August 2024. Inflation Both the food and non-food inflation indices showed deceleration, dropping to 16.3% and 11.4% respectively in June. Deloitte observed that the continued fall in inflation has significantly improved the real rate of return on investments. Using the monetary policy rate as a benchmark, the real return rose to 14.3% in June 2025, up from 6.2% in the same period in 2024. Transport sector records deflation Among the 13 inflation divisions tracked, Transport was the only category to record a negative inflation rate, declining sharply to -8.5% in June 2025 from 19% in June 2024. This reflects the sharp drop in local fuel prices and transport fares. Within the top five contributors to overall inflation, only the Insurance and Financial Services sector recorded an increase compared to the same period last year.
Reuters
7 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Ghana's central bank will discuss key rate in 10 days, governor says
ACCRA, July 17 (Reuters) - Ghana's central bank held an emergency meeting on Thursday to review economic data and market developments, but did not discuss its key policy rate, Governor Johnson Asiama said, adding the main meeting is in 10 days. In a statement released late on Wednesday, the Bank of Ghana said it would announce its policy decision the day after the special session. The central bank's fourth rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee meeting for the year had initially been slated to start on July 28, with the rate decision expected on July 30. At a Thursday event in the capital, Accra, the central bank governor said that members of the MPC had not discussed the policy rate at the emergency meeting. They met to "review numbers and also take stock of some of the developments in the markets to get a sense of what is going on and what our options are ahead of their meeting," Asiama said. The governor added that the Monetary Policy Committee will reconvene in 10 days to work on a policy statement. The Bank of Ghana last held a scheduled MPC meeting in May, where it opted to maintain the policy rate at 28.0%, maintaining its tight monetary policy as inflationary pressures continued to ease due to exchange rate stability and fiscal consolidation. Ghana's consumer price inflation slowed for the sixth month in a row to 13.7% in June, its lowest level since 2021, while the bellwether producer price inflation fell to 5.9% year-on-year in June compared with 10.2% the previous month. The finance minister is expected to present the cocoa-, gold-, and oil-producing West African nation's mid-year fiscal policy review on July 24.
Bloomberg
17-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Ghana Seen Slashing Rate as Yields Drop Ahead of Urgent Meeting
Ghana's central bank could deliver a sharp cut in interest rates at a meeting it pulled forward to this week, after inflation cooled significantly in the West African nation. The Bank of Ghana announced late Wednesday that policymakers would hold an 'emergency' meeting on Thursday and deliver their decision on Friday, shifting the date forward from July 30. The bank declined to comment beyond its announcement.
Reuters
17-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Ghana's central bank convenes emergency MPC meeting
ACCRA, July 17 (Reuters) - Ghana's central bank convened an emergency meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday to assess recent economic developments, the bank said in a statement. The Bank of Ghana's fourth rate-setting MPC meeting for the year had initially been slated to start on July 28, with the rate decision expected on July 30. In a statement released late Wednesday, the central bank said the MPC would "review recent developments in the economy" during the special session. The outcome of the meeting, including any policy decisions, will be announced on Friday. The Bank of Ghana last held a scheduled MPC meeting in May, where it opted to maintain the policy rate at 28.0%, maintaining its tight monetary policy as inflationary pressures continued to ease due to exchange rate stability and fiscal consolidation. Ghana's consumer price inflation slowed for the sixth month in a row to 13.7% in June, its lowest level since 2021, while the bellwether producer price inflation fell to 5.9% year-on-year in June compared with 10.2% the previous month. The finance minister is expected to present the cocoa-, gold-, and oil-producing West African nation's mid-year fiscal policy review on July 24.
Business Insider
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Africa's largest gold producer to hedge prices as reserves hit $11.1 billion
Ghana is developing a plan to hedge its gold exports in a bid to safeguard the earnings that have strengthened its central bank's foreign reserves. Ghana plans to hedge its gold exports to stabilize revenue, strengthening its international reserves. The Bank of Ghana reports a rise in gold reserves to 32.99 tonnes as of June 2025, with significant annual export growth. Improved trade surpluses and fiscal policies have strengthened the Ghanaian cedi, making it a top-performing global currency in 2025. Ghana is developing a plan to hedge its gold exports in a bid to safeguard the earnings that have strengthened its central bank's foreign reserves, according to Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiama. Speaking in Accra, Asiama noted that rising gold production and favourable prices have significantly boosted the country's gross international reserves, which now stand at $11.1 billion, enough to cover 4.8 months of imports. According to the Bank of Ghana, the country's gold reserves rose to 32.99 tonnes at the end of June 2025, up from 32.16 tonnes in May, reflecting a steady effort to build stronger foreign exchange buffers. Ghana's gold exports jumped 76% year-on-year to $5.2 billion in the first four months through April, helping to widen the country's trade surplus to $4.1 billion, up from $759 million in the same period last year, Bloomberg reported. This strong performance, combined with the government's ongoing fiscal consolidation efforts, has fueled a more than 40% rally in the cedi against the dollar in 2025, making it the second-best performing currency globally among those tracked by Bloomberg. Inflation has also eased, reaching a three-year low of 18.4% in May, down from 21.2% in April thanks to a stronger currency and reduced import costs. Regulatory framework for Crypto Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiama also revealed that the country is finalizing a regulatory framework to oversee cryptocurrency activities. The move aims to bring digital asset platforms and exchanges under formal regulatory control, ensuring better oversight and investor protection. 'Crypto is here. The question is how do we manage it, not whether to ban it,' he 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.' With this move, Ghana is positioning itself among a small but growing number of African nations proactively tackling the regulation of digital currencies.
