Ghana’s economy grew by 4.8% in the second quarter of 2022, an uptick from the 3.4% recorded in the first quarter of 2022.
This was disclosed by the Ghana Statistical Services. The growth was unexpected as in July, the finance ministry lowered its growth prediction for 2022 from 5.8% to 3.7%.
The appreciable growth rate was driven by manufacturing (8.8%), crops and cocoa (4.5%), mining and quarrying (4.4%), information and communication (12.4%) as well as the education sub-sectors (13.2%).
What you should know
- Compared to a 0.5% decline in the prior quarter, the industry sector increased by 4.4% from a year earlier, the agriculture sector growth slowed to 4.6%, from the revised growth of 5.1%, and services increased by 5.2% from 5.6%.
- The second-largest economy in West Africa will likely have a better chance of hitting its spending and revenue goals as a result of the acceleration in growth momentum.
- Nonetheless, the Ghanaian cedi has dropped by a whopping 64.45% against the US dollar since the start of the year. Furthermore, investors have dumped the cedi and the nation’s bonds this year as concerns about the impact of a global slowdown in demand for commodities such as cocoa have risen.
- Due to this, the central bank raised the benchmark interest rate by 850 basis points in November, the largest increase since 2002.
- The administration also requested a $3 billion economic support program from the International Monetary Fund in July as a result of unfavorable economic conditions. In the upcoming weeks, the lender will pay a follow-up visit to the continent’s second-largest gold producer.