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Ghana orders foreigners out of gold market by 30 April

Ghana has ordered that foreigners leave its gold market by the end the month. A new government agency announced this on Monday. The West African nation is looking to streamline the gold purchasing from small-scale mines, increase earnings, and reduce smuggling.

Africa's largest gold producer is moving away from a model where local and foreign companies that have export licenses could buy and export gold produced by artisanal and small-scale mining.

In the new system, only the newly formed GoldBod, also known as the Gold Board, is allowed to purchase, sell, assay, and export artisanal artisanal, according to a statement released on Monday. Older licenses are no longer valid.

The statement stated that foreigners must leave the local market for gold trading by April 30, although they may apply to "buy or remove gold directly from GoldBod".

In January, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato-Forson stated that GoldBod will allow Ghana to gain more profit from gold sales and maintain the stability of the national currency.

Ghana's gold imports increased by 53.2% to $11.64 Billion in 2024, with nearly $5 Billion coming from small-scale legal miners.

The gold price soared to $3,200 per ounce for the first ever time on Friday.

The trade war between China and the United States has roiled global markets, and investors have rushed to gold as a hedge. Gold is seen as a traditional way of protecting against economic and geopolitical uncertainty. (Reporting and writing by Christian Akorlie, Anait Miridzhanian, editing by Robbie Corey Boulet and Tomasz Januaryowski)

(source: Reuters)