<\/p>\n
The IMF expects full-year growth of 5.7%, while inflation fell to 5.5% in October.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Inflation is below the Bank of Ghana\u2019s target range of 6% to 10%. \u201cMacroeconomic stability is becoming entrenched,\u201d IMF Mission Chief for Ghana Ruben Atoyan said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF and Ghanaian authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the first review under the country\u2019s 36-month Policy Coordination Instrument.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The agreement requires approval from IMF Management and the Executive Board.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The non-financing programme supports Ghana\u2019s economic policies but does not provide direct disbursements.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ghana\u2019s primary fiscal surplus is on course to meet the end-of-year target, while public debt has declined rapidly in recent years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF said those gains had provided sufficient financial buffers to absorb part of the economic shock caused by the war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, foreign-exchange reserves have declined in recent months.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Authorities have transferred foreign-exchange intermediation from the Bank of Ghana to GoldBod and increased gold-sale requirements for large mining companies.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF said those measures, together with greater exchange-rate flexibility, were essential to rebuilding reserves.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The 2027 Budget targets a primary surplus of 0.5% of gross domestic product.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fiscal space will support investment under Ghana\u2019s New Economy priorities, including employment creation and infrastructure development.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF called for rigorous project assessment, competitive procurement and strict expenditure controls to protect debt sustainability.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Structural reforms include a new Cocoa Board Act, quarterly electricity-tariff adjustments and a review of customs and excise legislation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Work is continuing on tax administration, monetary liquidity management, the Fiscal Council and preparation of a Fiscal Risk Statement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, the delayed audit of Electricity Company of Ghana collection accounts must still be published.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ghana remains vulnerable to fluctuations in gold, cocoa and oil prices, geopolitical tensions and tighter global financing conditions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Domestic risks include substantial debt refinancing requirements, financial pressure from the energy, cocoa and gold sectors and weaknesses in the banking system. \u201cPrudent monetary policy, greater exchange-rate flexibility, stronger reserve buffers and the buildup of a sinking fund to pay for maturing debt remain key to safeguarding stability,\u201d Atoyan said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–IMF\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43948,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-50122","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Ghana\u2019s economy expanded by 6.2% in the first half of 2026 as investment strengthened and inflation continued to decline, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.","published_date":"","news_description":"Ghana\u2019s economy expanded by 6.2% in the first half of 2026 as investment strengthened and inflation continued to decline, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/50122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/50122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50124,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/50122\/revisions\/50124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=50122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}