BoG says no October FX intermediation as GoldBod lines up $1bn bank support

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has made clear it will not run a foreign exchange intermediation programme this October 2026. Instead, it pointed to the Ghana Gold Board’s (GoldBod) planned injection of US$1bn into commercial banks as the main reason for the shift. BoG reiterated that it stands ready to intervene only if market unrest threatens orderly trading, and it will rely on GoldBod’s mechanisms to keep the cedi stable.

GoldBod disclosed in September that it expected to raise US$1.5bn from gold export proceeds in October. Of this, US$1bn would be channelled to banks to buttress their foreign exchange positions, while up to US$500m would be handed to BoG to grow the nation’s reserves under the Ghana Accelerated National Reserves Accumulation Policy. These funds would be distributed through GoldBod’s new Spot FX Sales/Intermediation Framework, which is meant to bring more transparency and fairness to FX dealings.

The central bank’s decision comes as Ghana’s gross international reserves slipped to just over US$12bn in August, leaving less buffer against external shocks. Recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have added to the pressure on the cedi, prompting BoG to sharpen its focus on reserve rebuilding. While BoG did not outline a specific reason for skipping October’s FX programme, market watchers see GoldBod’s upcoming support as the driving force behind the change.

The upcoming GoldBod arrangement is expected to run throughout October, with the $500m earmarked for BoG to be deployed under the same framework. No public calendar date or venue has been announced for the rollout, and no event details have been supplied beyond the stated financial flow. The focus now is on how swiftly the promised funds reach the banks and how that translates into cedi stability in the coming weeks.