Adnan Adams Mohammad
Ghana’s major export commodities prices traded with mixed fortunes on the international commodities market in early 2025.
Gold traded at over US$3,000 per fine ounce for the very first time on March 14, this is after gold prices averaged US$2,897.3 per fine ounce in February this year, indicating year-on-year price growth of 9.7 percent.
“Gold prices crossed the US$3,000 per fine ounce on March 14, 2025, on account of heightened economic uncertainty triggered by the trade and geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and weakening US dollar”, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiama told journalists last week.
Similarly, crude oil prices recorded a marginal annual growth of 2.4 percent to settle at an average price of US$74.95 per barrel.
Cocoa prices, however, declined by 8.5 percent driven by improving supply outlook for the current 2024/25 season, Dr Asiama stated.
Meanwhile, in the banking sector, Dr Asiama said that banks’ performance continued to improve.
Total bank assets recorded year on year 34.0 percent growth at the end of February 2025 relative to 12.1 percent growth, over the previous year, he said.
With regulatory reliefs, the banking industry’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) was higher at 14.4 percent compared to 13.6 percent in the same period last year, Dr Asiama added.
“Without reliefs, CAR was 12.1 percent. The industry’s Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio declined to 22.6 percent in February 2025 from 24.6 percent in February 2024. Excluding the loans in the loss category, which are fully provisioned, the NPL ratio as at end-February 2025 was 8.9 percent,” he said.
Dr Asiama further stated that overall, the Financial Soundness Indicators showed broad improvements in asset growth, solvency, liquidity, efficiency, and profitability.
The fiscal policy stance was more expansionary than expected in 2024. The 2024 fiscal deficit, on a commitment basis, was 7.9 percent of GDP against a target of 3.8 percent of GDP, on the back of higher expenditures than target.
“This notwithstanding, early indications from banking sector data suggest some improvements in fiscal performance in early 2025.
“This, along with the commitment to fiscal consolidation presented in the 2025 budget, should support the fiscal outlook. Also, the ratio of public debt to GDP declined supported by the debt restructuring,” he said.
