Ghana central bank loses $1.9 billion on gold purchases as reserves hit $11.9 billion

Ghana's central bank raised international reserves to $11.9 billion by end of 2025, but lost $1.9 billion through a domestic gold purchase program, undermining its financial health. The loss, reported by the IMF, stemmed from high service fees, assay charges, and trading margins. The program did add $3.9 billion to reserves, but Bloomberg noted negative equity reached 6.7% of gross domestic product. To halt further losses, gold-buying responsibility shifted to the newly formed Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), which received 5 billion cedis ($430 million) to purchase bullion from small-scale miners and stabilize the cedi.