BoG supplies about $10bn to forex market in 2025 under intermediation framework as IMF flags transparency and gold prices surge

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) is reported to have supplied about $10 billion to the foreign exchange market in 2025 through what it describes as a forex intermediation framework, rather than a direct intervention, as scrutiny grows over the scale, source and sustainability of the support for the cedi.

Earlier in the year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised concerns after the central bank used $1.4 billion within the first three months of 2025.

While the Fund did not oppose interventions in principle, it insisted they must be transparent, limited and consistent with a market-determined exchange rate, rather than an attempt to hold the currency at a fixed level.

In response, the Bank of Ghana pledged to introduce a clear intermediation policy by the end of September, a commitment it has since fulfilled.

Under the new framework, the Bank publicly announces the amount of foreign exchange it intends to inject each month, a move designed to improve transparency and signal continued reliance on market conditions.

In October, the Bank announced an intervention of $1.15 billion, followed by $1 billion in November and $800 million in December.

Excluding the $1.4 billion used in the first quarter, the Bank supplied approximately $6 billion between April and September, averaging about $1 billion per month.

Where market players do not take up the full amount offered, the unused portion is added to the country’s reserves.

Ghana’s gross international reserves have now risen to $11.4 billion, equivalent to 4.8 months of import cover, the highest level recorded since the economic crisis.

The scale of the interventions has raised key questions about how the Bank is sourcing such large volumes of dollars, whether the pace is sustainable, and whether the reserves face significant risk.

Before Ghana lost access to the Eurobond market, the country was able to raise as much as $3 billion annually between 2019 and 2021, and about $1 billion per year in the preceding years.

Together with gold, cocoa and, to some extent, oil exports, these inflows formed the backbone of foreign exchange support for the cedi.

Once access to international capital markets was lost, reliance shifted heavily to gold and cocoa exports.

In 2025, gold has emerged as the dominant factor. The return of Donald Trump to the White House and broader geopolitical tensions have pushed gold prices to unprecedented levels.

The average gold price stood at about $2,300 per ounce in 2024, but crossed $4,000 per ounce for the first time in 2025 and is currently hovering around $4,200.

This surge is the primary reason the Bank of Ghana has been able to intervene so aggressively in the forex market.

A second layer to the intervention strategy involves the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board.

The Board was initially expected to be financed through a $279 million revolving fund from the central government, but that model has changed.

It is now financed through a more complex arrangement involving commercial banks and the Bank of Ghana.

Under one model, the Bank of Ghana collects cedis from commercial banks and forwards the funds to the Gold Board to purchase gold from small-scale miners.

The gold is sold, the dollar proceeds are returned to the Bank, and the Bank then supplies the commercial banks with the foreign exchange they require.

Under a second model, the Bank uses high-powered money to purchase gold directly from the Gold Board. The gold is either sold for foreign exchange, which is added to reserves, or refined and added to Ghana’s gold reserves.