While central banks globally continue to increase their gold holdings and bolster reserves, the Bank of Ghana has paid a steep price for its domestic gold purchase program.

A recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report shows that the Bank of Ghana recorded a loss of 220 billion cedis (approximately $1.9 billion) in 2025 due to the domestic gold acquisition initiative. The losses primarily stemmed from service fees, gold assay costs, and transaction spreads.

Although the program successfully boosted Ghana's international reserves by $3.9 billion, reaching $11.9 billion by the end of 2025, it also widened the central bank's negative equity position to 6.7% of the country's GDP. The IMF noted that while the gold purchase plan enhanced reserves, it placed significant strain on the central bank's balance sheet.

Financial Costs Behind Reserve Expansion

To expand its foreign exchange reserves, the Ghanaian government established the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) in 2025, authorizing it as the sole buyer of gold from domestic artisanal and small-scale miners, with the Bank of Ghana providing financing for the gold purchases.

IMF data indicates that the program increased Ghana's international reserves to $11.9 billion by the end of 2025. However, cumulative costs from service fees, assay charges, and transaction spreads resulted in a 220 billion cedi loss, further exacerbating the central bank's negative equity position and highlighting the financial pressure arising from the central bank's quasi-fiscal functions.

To cut off related risk exposure, the gold purchase program was officially transferred to GoldBod in July of this year, with the central bank exiting the business. Moving forward, operational costs will be borne by GoldBod and the government, incorporated into the national budget, thereby improving the transparency of fiscal costs.

Ghana's expansion of gold reserves coincides with a global central bank purchasing frenzy. Since 2025, international gold prices have continued to climb, briefly approaching $5,600 per ounce in 2026, hitting a record high. Gold prices have since corrected from those peaks and are now trading around $4,250 per ounce.