Ghana recorded a trade surplus of $1.43 billion in the first half of this year, higher than the $886 million recorded during the same period last year.
This is equivalent to 2% of Gross Domestic Product.
According to the Summary of Economic and Financial Data of the Bank of Ghana, the country bagged $9.0 billion in six months of this year, triggered by increases in gold and crude oil exports.
Total imports, however, stood at $7.56 billion. This was dominated by oil imports of $5.28 billion.
For exports, the data further revealed that gold dominated the total value of exports, recording $3.01 billion in June 2022, followed by oil which registered $2.83 billion in June 2022.
This is compared with $2.66 billion and $1.75 billion during the same period last year
The impressive outing for crude oil exports so far in 2022 is as a result of the higher price of the commodity. Crude oil is presently hovering around $102 per barrel.
Again, increased gold production has resulted in a surge in gold exports.
For imports, non-oil imports was estimated at $5.28 billion in June 2022, whilst oil imports accounted for $2.28 billion.
Also, the current account balance as of June 2022 stood at a deficit of $1.09 billion, -1.8% of GDP. This is far higher than the deficit of $128.2 million recorded in April 2022.
The overall balance of payment however stood at -$2.49 billion in June 2022, as against %2.36 billion during the same period last year in 2022.
