The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) Domestic Gold Purchase Programme recorded losses exceeding $1.7 billion in 2025, even though the initiative played a key role in strengthening the cedi and improving the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
According to the IMF’s Selected Issues Report released on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, the BoG purchased and exported approximately 104 tonnes of gold worth $10.9 billion from artisanal and small-scale miners during the year, making the central bank the primary channel for nearly all officially recorded small-scale gold exports.
The report said the programme significantly boosted Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves to $11.9 billion, enabling the BoG to inject more foreign currency into the banking system. This contributed to the cedi appreciating by 41 percent against the US dollar in 2025.
Despite these gains, the IMF noted that the programme came at a substantial financial cost.
According to the Fund, the losses were driven by expenses related to gold testing and handling, export discounts, and exchange rate differentials. The losses increased sharply from about $400 million in 2024 to more than $1.7 billion in 2025, leaving the central bank with negative equity equivalent to 6.7 percent of Ghana’s GDP by the end of the year.
The IMF further explained that the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme has since been transferred to the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), effective July 2026.
Under the new arrangement, GoldBod is expected to assume the financial costs associated with the programme, while the Bank of Ghana is no longer exposed to the operational risks that previously weighed on its balance sheet.
The Fund added that the restructuring is expected to improve efficiency, with the programme’s cost per ounce projected to decline from 14.5 percent in 2025 to around 5 percent under GoldBod’s management.
While acknowledging the programme’s positive impact on Ghana’s external reserves and currency stability, the IMF stressed that the new framework is intended to preserve those benefits while significantly reducing the financial burden previously borne by the central bank.
