Analysis: Why the Bank of Ghana sold half its gold reserves

The Bank of Ghana undertook a major shift in its reserve management strategy between November and December 2025, selling roughly half of its gold holdings in a move aimed at reducing risk and rebalancing the country’s international reserves.

Data from the central bank shows that Ghana’s gold reserves stood at 38.04 tonnes in October 2025. By December 2025, that figure had dropped sharply to 18.6 tonnes—representing a 51% decline in holdings.

This significant reduction followed a period of aggressive gold accumulation under the Gold for Reserves programme, which the Bank launched in May 2023 in response to the Ghana economic crisis 2022. That crisis saw the country experience a severe shortage of foreign exchange, a sharp depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi, and rapidly rising inflation.

The programme was designed to strengthen Ghana’s financial resilience by building gold reserves as an alternative buffer to support the currency and the broader economy during periods of external shocks. At the start of the programme in May 2023, Ghana held just over 8 tonnes of gold. By 2025, this had increased more than fourfold to over 38 tonnes.

However, this rapid accumulation created a new vulnerability. Gold became a disproportionately large component of Ghana’s international reserves. At its peak, the 38 tonnes of gold held by the Bank were valued at approximately $3.5 billion.

At the time, Ghana’s gross international reserves stood at $11.4 billion, while net international reserves were estimated at $9.3 billion. This meant gold accounted for about 30% of gross reserves and roughly 37% of net reserves—levels considered high by international portfolio management standards.

International reserves play a critical role in maintaining economic stability. They provide the foreign exchange needed to finance imports during crises and reassure investors of a country’s ability to meet external debt obligations. Ghana’s experience during the 2022 crisis, when access to international capital markets became severely constrained, underscored the importance of adequate and liquid reserves.

Holding a large share of reserves in physical gold, however, presents challenges. Unlike foreign currency assets, gold is not immediately liquid. It must first be sold and converted into dollars before it can be used, potentially delaying urgent interventions in the foreign exchange market. In addition, gold reserves expose the country to fluctuations in global commodity prices.

Gold prices surged for much of 2025, increasing the value of Ghana’s holdings. However, the decline observed in January 2026 highlighted the risks of overexposure, as falling prices can quickly erode reserve value.

These concerns were publicly discussed on JoyNews’ analytical programme Beyond the Numbers in early November 2025. In response, the Bank of Ghana acknowledged the concentration risk in December 2025, noting that gold accounted for over 42% of its reserve portfolio at the end of October.

The central bank indicated that it would rebalance its portfolio by reducing gold holdings in line with its strategic asset allocation framework. Proceeds from the sale would be reinvested into a diversified mix of income-generating assets to improve liquidity, enhance resilience, and optimise returns.

The gold sale was executed in December 2025 and publicly disclosed in January 2026. According to the Governor of the Bank, Johnson Asiama, the central bank sold approximately 19 tonnes of gold, realising a profit of about $1.3 billion. The profit was largely driven by the significant increase in global gold prices between the time of purchase and the point of sale.

Despite the divestment, the Bank did not completely exit gold accumulation. Between January and February 2026, it purchased an additional 0.6 tonnes, albeit at higher prices.

Shortly after the sale, the Ministry of Finance Ghana introduced a new policy—the Ghana Accelerated National Reserves Accumulation Policy (GANRAP). The policy aims to build Ghana’s reserves to cover 15 months of imports by 2028.

Under GANRAP, Ghana plans to acquire approximately 3 tonnes of gold each week. Of this, the Bank of Ghana is expected to purchase about 0.57 tonnes weekly from large-scale mining companies, while the Ghana Gold Board will procure about 2.45 tonnes from small-scale miners.

The policy also introduces an additional layer of oversight, requiring Cabinet and Parliamentary approval before any gold sales can be undertaken. While this is intended to ensure accountability, it may limit the central bank’s flexibility in responding quickly to market conditions.

Governor Asiama acknowledged these complexities, noting that large-scale reserve accumulation efforts raise important questions about liquidity conditions, the Bank’s balance sheet, and the interaction between reserve management and monetary policy.

To maintain operational flexibility, the Bank has indicated that it can use structured financing arrangements to generate liquidity from its gold holdings without necessarily requiring outright sales. This allows the central bank to respond to urgent foreign exchange needs, such as external debt servicing or energy sector payments, even under the new policy constraints.

The decision to sell more than 19 tonnes of gold initially surprised many observers. However, from a portfolio management perspective, the move reflects a strategic effort to reduce exposure to gold price volatility and rebalance the reserve mix.

At the same time, the introduction of GANRAP—which encourages rapid gold accumulation—appears to create some tension with the earlier rebalancing strategy.

The Bank of Ghana has stated that its long-term objective is to maintain gold holdings within a range of 20% to 30% of total reserves. It has also reaffirmed its commitment to periodic rebalancing whenever gold exceeds acceptable thresholds.

For this strategy to remain effective, foreign exchange inflows—particularly those generated through gold exports by the Gold Board and other sources—must keep pace with the rate of gold accumulation. If inflows fall short, gold could once again dominate the reserve portfolio, recreating the concentration risks that prompted the 2025 sale.

Ultimately, maintaining a careful balance between accumulation and liquidity will be critical. Ghana’s ability to manage this balance will determine whether it can continue to build its gold reserves while preserving financial stability and avoiding excessive exposure to commodity price fluctuations.