Ghana’s Trade Surplus Hits $5 Billion First Time on Gold Surge

Bloomberg | Ghana’s annual trade surplus reached US$5 billion in 2024 for the first time ever as the value of the country’s gold exports soared. The excess of merchandise exports over imports widened from US$2.7 billion in 2023, the Bank of Ghana said in a summary of economic and financial data.

Gold shipments in Africa’s top producer of the metal increased more than 50 percent to US$11.6 billion last year, it said.

The favorable trade balance could support stability of the cedi, Ghana’s currency, which has depreciated by 3.2 percent to the dollar so far this year on a strengthening US currency following President Donald Trump’s election victory.

In gross domestic product terms, the trade account improved to 5.9 percent of GDP in 2024 from 3.5 percent a year earlier, the Bank of Ghana said.

Cocoa exports declined from US$2.2 billion to US$1.7 billion, while oil exports saw a modest rise to US$3.9 billion. The current account balance rose from 1.8 percent to 4.2 percent of GDP, with remittances increasing to US$6.7 billion.