April 2023 sees a trade surplus of $1.6 billion, while the balance of payments is still negative but improving – BoG

Ghana recorded a trade surplus of $1.6 billion in the first four months of 2023, approximately 2.2% of Gross Domestic Product GDP).

This is higher than the $1.15 billion (1.6% of GDP) registered during the same period last year

According to the May 2023 Summary of Economic and Financial Data by the Bank of Ghana, total exports as of April 2023 was estimated at $5.64 billion, whilst total imports stood at $4.04 billion.

Gold dominated the total value of exports, recording $2.17 billion in April 2023, higher than the $1.84 billion recorded during the same period last year.

Cocoa overtook crude oil for the second position as proceeds from the export commodity in the first four months of 2023 stood at $1.25 billion, as against $1.03 billion a year ago.

Crude oil exports brought in $1.17 billion in April 2023. This is compared to $1.85 billion in April 2022.

For imports, oil imports accounted for $1.20 billion in April 2023, whilst non-oil imports totalled $2.84 billion.

Balance of payment still negative but improves

The country’s Balance of Payment at the end of March 2023 showed a deficit of $353 million, approximately 0.5% of the Gross Domestic Product.

This is however far lower than the deficit of $934 million recorded during the same period in 2022.

Capital and Financial Account Balance stood at a deficit of $955 million in April 2023, compared with a deficit of $451 million in March 2023.

The negative Capital and Financial Account Balance was a result of a net portfolio of investments outflow.

The current account balance however stood at $661.4 million, about 0.9% of GDP in April 2023.

Gross reserves stood at 2.4 months of import cover

Meanwhile, Gross International Reserves stood at $5.21 billion in April 2023, about 2.4 months of import cover