Ghana blames widening trade deficit on external factors

As Ghana continues to experience widening trade deficits, the country has blamed external factors for the situation.

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Henry Wampah told journalists mid September 2015 that the country’s export receipts have been impacted by lower commodity prices, mainly gold and oil.

“For the first seven months of 2015, merchandise export receipts amounted to $6.3 billion down from $8.1 billion in the same period last year.

Merchandise imports also amounted to $7.8 billion, from $8.4 billion in the corresponding period in 2014 leading to a worsening in the trade deficit,” he said.

He noted however that the current account deficit improved as a result of favourable movements in the Services and Income accounts.

“Gross foreign assets as at end-July 2015 stood at $4.4 billion, enough to cover 2.8 months of imports of goods and services compared with $5.5 billion in December 2014 (3.8 months of imports of goods and services), he said.

By Emmanuel K Dogbevi