Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen
FOR THE first eight months of this year, total exports contracted by 9 per cent year-on-year to US$9,622.3 million, which was driven mainly by the sharp decline of US$1,142.5 million in crude oil export receipts due to the drop in prices.
According to the Bank of Ghana, gold and cocoa export earnings, however, increased by about US$400 million on account of favourable prices and production volumes.
Total imports also contracted by 9.2 per cent to US$8,304.3 million on account of a 28.6 per cent and 4.7 per cent contraction in oil and non-oil imports respectively.
Lower Trade Surplus
The bank noted that such developments resulted in a lower trade surplus of US$1,318.0 million (2.0 per cent of GDP) in the first eight months of 2020, compared with US$1,421.0 million (2.1 per cent of GDP) in the same period of 2019.
Gross International Reserves at the end of August 2020 was US$8,561.9 million, providing cover for 4.0 months of imports of goods and services. The reserve level compares with a position of US$8,418.1 million, equivalent to 4.0 months of import cover recorded at the end of December 2019.
Commodities Prices
On trade, prices of the key export commodities continue to trade mixed in the year to August 2020.
Crude oil prices have declined by 30.9 per cent from the beginning of year to August 2020 primarily due to low demand as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Crude oil prices averaged US$44.3 per barrel in August. In contrast, gold prices averaged US$1,971.1 per fine ounce at the end of August, representing a year-on-year growth of 33.1 per cent supported by accommodative monetary policy, increased uncertainty, and the global economic slowdown due to Covid-19.
Also, cocoa prices averaged US$2,482.1 per tonne in August 2020, representing a 1.4 per cent year-on-year decline.
BY Samuel Boadi