Ghana has recorded a trade surplus of US$ 1.6 billion in the first four months of 2023.
In comparison, the figure which represents roughly 2.2 percent of GDP is also higher than the US$ 1.15 billion recorded during the same period in 2022.
The Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) Summary of Economic and Financial Data for May 2023 reports that, total exports value stood at US$ 5.64 billion as of April 2023, while total imports were valued at US$ 4.04 billion.
Gold was the most valuable export, accounting for US$ 2.17 billion in April 2023, up from US$ 1.84 billion in the same month of 2022.
Crude oil was surpassed by cocoa to take over the second spot, with export revenues from the commodity totaling US$ 1.25 billion in the first four months of 2023 compared to US$ 1.03 billion in the same period last year.
For April 2023, crude oil exports generated US$1.17 billion as compared to the US$1.85 billion spent in April 2022.
In terms of imports, US$ 1.20 billion was spent on oil imports in April 2023 compared to the US$ 2.84 billion spent on non-oil imports.
At the end of March 2023, the nation’s balance of payments showed a deficit of US$ 353 million, or roughly 0.5% of GDP.
However, this is a significant improvement over the US$ 934 million deficit shown during the same time period in 2022.
April 2023 had a US$ 955 million deficit in the Capital and Financial Account Balance, up from a US$ 451 million deficit in March 2023.
Due to a net outflow of investments, the capital and financial account balance were negative.
However, in April 2023, the current account balance was US$ 661.4 million, or roughly 0.9% of GDP.
Meanwhile, Gross International Reserves stood at US$ 5.21 billion in April 2023, about 2.4 months of import cover.
