Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Ernest Addison, reported mixed trends for Ghana’s major export commodities on the international market. Cocoa price futures showed a recovery, increasing by 1.1 percent in June 2024 to reach US$9,022.6 per tonne, after a 19.2 percent decline in May 2024.
Crude oil prices remained stable, averaging US$83.01 per barrel in June 2024. Conversely, spot gold prices saw a slight drop of 1.1 percent, averaging US$2,325.34 per fine ounce in June 2024.
The country’s trade balance saw an improvement in the first half of the year, primarily due to higher exports compared to imports.
Dr. Addison announced a trade surplus of US$1.81 billion for this period, up from US$1.60 billion in the first half of 2023. Exports rose by US$1.01 billion to US$9.23 billion, while imports increased by US$884.5 million to US$7.42 billion.
Dr. Addison also highlighted the banking sector’s recovery from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme’s impact. As of the end of June 2024, total banking sector assets had grown by 33.3 percent to GH¢323.1 billion, compared to a 21.2 percent growth at the end of June 2023. Indicators of profitability, liquidity, and efficiency showed improvement as well.
“The trade surplus improved to US$1.81 billion in the first half of the year, compared to the surplus of US$1.60 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2023. Total exports increased by US$1.01 billion to US$9.23 billion, while imports rose by US$884.5 million to US$7.42 billion,” Dr Addison said at the 119th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press conference in Accra on Friday, July 26.
The Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), adjusted for reliefs, remained at 14.3 percent from June 2023 to June 2024. Without reliefs, the CAR was reported at 10.6 percent in June 2024, up from 7.4 percent in June 2023.
Despite these gains, Dr. Addison noted that elevated credit risk remains a challenge for the sector’s recovery. The Nonperforming Loans (NPL) ratio increased to 24.1 percent in June 2024 from 18.7 percent in June 2023.
Dr. Addison emphasized that sustained profitability, adherence to recapitalization plans, and strict credit underwriting standards are crucial for the banking sector to achieve full recovery and resilience.
“Despite improvements in the banking sector’s performance, elevated credit risk poses a threat to the sector’s recovery process,” he noted.
“The consistent rebound in profits, adherence to recapitalisation plans, and enforcement of strict credit underwriting standards will help ensure that banks remain on the path to full recovery and resilience,” Dr Adison said.