Ghana had less than 1.5 months of import cover in 2023, the April 2024 World Bank Africa Pulse Report has revealed.
The country and five other countries including Burkina Faso recorded very low secondary reserves.
Nearly 40% of the countries in the region had less than three months of imports in international reserves by the end of 2023.
The report added that the depreciation of currencies in many African countries resulted from acute shortages of foreign exchange.
It continued that most currencies in Sub-Saharan Africa weakened in 2023 as a result of tighter (global and domestic) financial conditions and a strong dollar.
Ghana’s gross reserves increased by 9.9% in first two months of 2024 to $4.06bn
According to the Bank of Ghana, Ghana's Gross International Reserves (GIR) excluding Encumbered Assets and Petroleum Fund increased by 9.99% in the first two months of 2024 to $4.02 billion in February 2024.
This was equivalent to 1.8 months of import cover.
In December 2023, the Gross International Reserves stood at $3.66 billion, about 1.7% of import cover. It inched up to $4.17 billion in January 2024 but declined slightly to $4.02 billion in February 2024.
According to the Summary of Economic and Financial Data, the country’s reserves have been growing consistently albeit slightly since August 2023.
Credit: Joy Business