As at July 2015, the total foreign money left in government’s coffers for imports of goods and services could only last for two months, eight days.
According to figures from the Bank of Ghana, the country’s gross foreign assets as at July ending stood at $ 4.4 billion compared to $ 5.5 billion in December 2014, which was enough then, to cover imports of goods and services for a three months, eight days period.
This implies that should the country run into any financial crisis, foreign reserves in government’s coffers could only sustain the country for two months and eight days.
The Governor, Dr. Henry Wampah, attributed the fall to lower oil and mineral receipts.
“So far, export receipts have been impacted by lower commodity prices, mainly gold and oil”, Dr. Wampah told journalists in Accra.
The Bank of Ghana further explained that for the first seven months of 2015, merchandise export receipts amounted to US$ 6.3 billion down from US$ 8.1 billion in the same period last year. Merchandise imports also amounted to US$ 7.8 billion from US$ 8.4 billion in the corresponding period in 2014 leading to a worsening in the trade deficit.
Dr. Wampah noted however that the current account deficit improved as a result of favourable movements in the Services and Income Accounts.
