The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) recorded losses exceeding $1.7 billion in 2025, despite contributing significantly to the growth of the country’s foreign exchange reserves and supporting the stability of the Cedi.
According to the IMF’s 2026 Article IV Consultation and proposed Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI) report, the programme became the main driver of the central bank’s foreign exchange inflows and reserve accumulation during the period.
The Fund said the large-scale expansion of the DGPP resulted in losses of more than $1.7 billion, representing about 1.5% of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It noted that nearly all the losses were associated with the purchase of doré gold under the Gold for Reserves (G4R) initiative.
“The significant scaling up of DGPP operations led to losses of over $1.7 billion (1.5% of GDP), almost entirely related to G4R doré purchases; this amounted to a loss of 17% of the value of doré gold sold by the BoG,” the IMF stated.
The report attributed the losses to several factors, including service and assay fees paid to the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), discounts applied to gold sold to off-takers, and exchange rate differences between the forex bureau rate used for gold purchases and the Bank of Ghana’s reference rate for accounting purposes.
The IMF explained that while some of the losses were linked to accounting valuation effects rather than direct financial costs, they still weakened the central bank’s balance sheet and contributed to transfers to foreign exchange buyers who purchased dollars at the official reference rate.
The Fund further noted that the losses did not include the cost of sterilising the reserves accumulated through the gold programme, adding that the Bank of Ghana’s negative equity reached 6.7% of GDP by the end of 2025.
Despite the financial impact, the IMF acknowledged the important role played by the DGPP in improving Ghana’s external financial position.
It said gold-related inflows increased significantly from $1.7 billion in 2023 to $12.7 billion in 2025, including $1.1 billion in net gains from bullion sales, largely driven by increased purchases from the artisanal and small-scale mining sector.
The Fund described the DGPP as “operationally central” to Ghana’s reserve accumulation efforts under the IMF-supported programme, contributing to an eightfold increase in gross international reserves.
By the end of 2025, Ghana’s reserves had risen to $11.9 billion, equivalent to about four months of import cover and above programme targets.
The IMF added that the stronger reserve position allowed the Bank of Ghana to increase foreign exchange interventions from $1 billion in 2023 to $10.6 billion in 2025, improving liquidity in the forex market and supporting a 41% nominal appreciation of the Cedi against the US dollar during the period.
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