The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has posted a GH¢9.05 billion loss from its Domestic Gold Purchase Programme in 2025. This was contained in the Central Bank’s 2025 Financial Report.

This compares to a loss of GH¢5.66 billion in 2024, representing an increase of GH¢3.39 billion, about 60%, in 2025. The total loss comprised net losses on gold held for reserves and gold used in the Gold-for-Oil programme.

According to the report, under the Gold for Reserves Programme, the central bank purchased doré gold primarily to generate foreign exchange and typically sold it shortly after acquisition. The gold was not intended to be stored for long-term value increases or profit from price changes.

The financial results of the programme were determined by comparing the selling price of the gold, after deducting related selling costs, with the original purchase cost, alongside any interest earned from gold deposits.

In 2025, a total of 2,914,305 fine ounces of doré gold were acquired, a significant increase from 1,092,492 ounces in 2024. During the same period, 2,895,426 ounces were sold, compared to 1,076,125 ounces the previous year. By the end of December 2025, the remaining doré gold holdings stood at 9,283 fine ounces, up from 7,311 ounces recorded in 2024.

The report explained that the overall financial outcome reflects the actual difference between the net proceeds from gold sales and the recorded value of the gold sold.

Additionally, interest earned on gold deposits for the year totalled GH¢0.047 billion.

Regarding the Gold for Oil Programme, the sale of gold, after accounting for costs and the value of gold sold, resulted in a net loss of GH¢0.544 billion, an improvement compared to the GH¢0.667 billion loss recorded in 2024.

On the other hand, oil trading operations posted a net gain of GH¢0.341 billion, a turnaround from the GH¢1.155 billion loss reported the previous year.

Overall, the programme’s performance was influenced by margins from both gold and oil trading, as well as operational expenses incurred while supporting foreign exchange stability and energy supply. The programme was eventually brought to an end in March 2025.

Last year, BoG revealed setbacks recorded in the implementation of its Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP), highlighting that it cost far more than it earned.

The DGPP is a policy launched by the Bank of Ghana in June 2021 to buy gold locally from small-scale miners and use it to build Ghana’s gold reserves to mitigate the growing pressure on the cedi due to increasing demand for forex for imports.

Public discussion around the losses intensified after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reportedly highlighted losses exceeding US$214 million in 2025.

Given this, the BoG failed to declare the losses in its 2024 Annual Report, leaving a gap in public knowledge. Asempa FM’s Philip Osei Bonsu, in pursuance of Article 21(f) of the 1992 Constitution and the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), demanded a clear breakdown of the programme’s status.

In response, the BoG issued a document on the programme’s performance over the last two years. It shows that the programme’s losses rose sharply from GH¢74 million in 2022 to GH¢1.37 billion in 2023, and then increased even more in 2024 to GH¢5.66 billion.

The data show that GH¢1.82 billion of the losses stemmed from the Gold-for-Oil arrangement, while GH¢3.84 billion was linked to the Gold-for-Reserves and other segments.

Net G40 losses, covering gold and oil transactions, and Net G4R losses, covering artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold and other segments, accounted for the increases.

Figures for 2025 indicate 100.6 tonnes of ASM gold and a total of 110.99 tonnes of gold purchased, valued at US$11.4 billion. However, these numbers are pending external audit confirmation, the Bank noted.

Analysts have cautioned that while the DGPP supports reserves, the escalating losses underscore the challenges of managing large-scale gold operations alongside other financial instruments. The Bank has invited further queries for clarification.

Amid the losses incurred, the BoG defended the programme as one that promotes currency stability.

“The DGPP is a strategic programme that promotes currency stability, which is one of the Bank’s core mandates,” the Bank stated. Despite the losses, the institution insisted the programme remains a key stabilising tool.