Ghana shifts bank dollar sales to GoldBod; IMF calls it a corrective step

By the Citi Sighs Intelligence Desk — Toronto, November 11, 2026

TORONTO — Ghana has moved the regular monthly sale of dollars to its banks from the Bank of Ghana to GoldBod, the state gold trader, and the IMF has called the shift a corrective step. In a Nov. 5 statement on the first review of Ghana's programme, IMF staff described the move, and a higher gold-sale requirement for large-scale miners, as corrective action after reserves declined in recent months, and said sticking with both, alongside greater exchange-rate flexibility, is needed to rebuild reserves, MyJoyOnline reported.

For a Canadian firm billing a Ghanaian client in US dollars, or a Ghanaian founder paying a Canadian vendor, what matters is where Ghanaian banks now get their dollars. GoldBod says it plans to make US$800 million available to commercial banks in November, out of US$1.2 billion it expects to earn from gold, according to its monthly update.

What changed

• The Bank of Ghana said it did not expect to run a foreign-exchange intermediation programme in October 2026, while remaining ready to intervene to keep the market orderly, MyJoyOnline reported. It had sold US$500 million to banks in September.
• The Ghana News Agency described October as the central bank's exit from intermediation, with GoldBod taking over. Governor Johnson Asiama has rejected the idea of a handover, saying the central bank's priority is to build reserves, with GoldBod helping supply dollars, and that it will step in when needed, MyJoyOnline reported.
• GoldBod sold all US$1.011 billion it earned from artisanal and small-scale gold in October to authorised commercial banks through its GoFX platform, under an approved FX sales framework, it said on Nov. 2.
• GoldBod says it stopped receiving central-bank money to buy gold in March 2026 and now funds purchases through commercial banks and offtakers, according to its website.
• Separately, a policy for the state to buy 30% of large-scale miners' gold output took effect on July 1, bought through GoldBod under an agreement with the Ghana Chamber of Mines and settled in cedis at the Bank of Ghana reference rate, GBC reported.

The Nov. 5 review is a staff-level agreement and still needs approval by IMF management and the Executive Board, MyJoyOnline reported. The programme is a 36-month, non-financing Policy Coordination Instrument, so it releases no new IMF money, the IMF said in July.

What it means in practice

Firms in Ghana still buy dollars through their banks. In October the scheduled supply to banks came from GoldBod's gold earnings, with no central-bank programme, though the Bank of Ghana says it may still intervene. GoldBod's November allocation to banks, US$800 million, is below the US$1 billion it planned for October, when up to US$500 million more was set aside for central-bank reserves, per GNA. The November update does not say where the remaining US$400 million goes, per GoldBod.

The cedi traded at about GH¢11.71 to the US dollar at the end of September, a 10.76% depreciation for the year to that point, MyJoyOnline reported. Governor Asiama put gross reserves at about US$12.04 billion on Sept. 22 and said he expects six months of import cover by December, per MyJoyOnline.

For large-scale mines, including any with Canadian investors or suppliers, the state's 30% purchase is settled entirely in cedis and priced at a fixed 0.55% discount, according to GBC. We did not find a public comment from the Chamber of Mines on how the terms are working.

Context

Ghana completed its IMF Extended Credit Facility in July with a final disbursement of about US$371 million, bringing the total to about US$3 billion, the IMF said. IMF staff called programme performance broadly satisfactory, Graphic Online reported. Growth was 6.2% in the first half of 2026, with the IMF projecting 5.7% for the year; inflation was 5.5% in October, below the Bank of Ghana's 6–10% target range; and the 2027 budget plans to target a primary surplus of 0.5% of GDP, according to the IMF statement as MyJoyOnline reported it.

The Fund also flagged external-sector risks, fiscal pressures from the energy, cocoa and gold sectors, and refinancing needs, and urged a sinking fund for maturing debt, per MyJoyOnline. Ghana's Institute of Economic Affairs has called for the large-miner share to rise from 30% to 50%, B&FT reported.

What to watch next

• Nov. 12: Finance Minister Ato Forson presents the 2027 budget, MyJoyOnline reported.
• Nov. 18: Bank of Ghana rate decision, as we reported.
• Early December: GoldBod's next monthly FX plan.
• IMF Executive Board approval of the first review; we found no scheduled date.

The case for and against

The case for: tying bank dollar supply to gold earnings frees the central bank to concentrate on building reserves, the governor's stated priority, and the IMF calls the shift corrective. Ghanaian policy voices such as the IEA want the state to buy more gold, not less.

The case against: dollar supply now leans on one agency and on artisanal gold flows, which move with output and world prices. Miners are paid in cedis, at a discount, for the 30% of output they sell to the state; the IMF itself lists the gold sector among fiscal pressure points; and the IMF's call for more exchange-rate flexibility means the cedi could move more, not less.

What we could not verify

• The IMF's Nov. 5 press release did not load for us; we relied on reports of it by MyJoyOnline, Graphic Online and GBC.
• The size of the recent reserve decline: the IMF gave no figure.
• Whether the 30% share is the "higher" gold-sale requirement the IMF referred to; its statement gave no number. B&FT described 30% as the current share in August, but we did not find the previous one.
• Sources differ on whether the Bank of Ghana has left FX intermediation for good; the governor says it has not handed over the role.

Disclosure: Citi Sighs has no commercial relationship with any company or institution named in this article. This article is general information, not tax, legal or investment advice.