The combination of softer gold prices and a stronger cedi has reduced the momentum behind Ghana’s retail gold investment products – both the Bank of Ghana’s gold coins and the Ghana Gold Board’s Gold Tablets. While neither issuing institution is providing hard data on investor purchases and redemptions, sources from within the commercial banks which serve as trading outlets for BoG gold coins and from within GOLDBOD’S retail outlets for issuance of its Gold Tablets are claiming that purchases are slowing, while redemptions are rising modestly.
Furthermore, investment analysts forecast that the near-term outlook points to a period of consolidation rather than the rapid growth in demand witnessed during the preceding gold bull market of most of 2025 and the beginning of 2026.
All this is because the investment case for both of these retail gold products available to Ghanaians has changed significantly since February 2026. After a prolonged surge that drove gold prices to record highs in late 2025 and early 2026, international gold prices have since retreated and largely stagnated. At the same time, the cedi has remained considerably stronger than its pre-2025 levels, supported by rising gold reserves and improved foreign exchange liquidity.
Together, these developments have reduced the attractiveness of gold-denominated retail investment products relative to the environment that prevailed during 2024 and early 2025.
Why retail gold products are losing their luster
The value of BoG Gold Coins is determined by two principal factors: the international gold price and the cedi-dollar exchange rate. During 2025 and into January 2026, investors benefited from a “double gain” as global gold prices rose sharply while the cedi value of the dollar remained relatively high. The result was rapid appreciation in coin prices. In January 2026, for instance, the value of the one-ounce coin rose by more than GH¢3,000 in only four days as gold prices surged internationally.
Since February, however, the situation has reversed. Although gold prices remain historically elevated, they have ceased their earlier rapid ascent and have experienced periods of decline and consolidation. At the same time, the stronger cedi has reduced the local currency value of each ounce of gold. Financial analysts had already warned in 2025 that cedi appreciation was diminishing the investment value of BoG Gold Coins even when international gold prices remained firm.
Consequently, new purchases of BoG Gold Coins have slowed markedly. Retail investors who were attracted by expectations of rapid capital gains are finding fewer incentives to enter the market. The opportunity cost of holding gold has also increased as alternative cedi-denominated investments now offer lower currency risk than was the case during Ghana’s earlier periods of exchange-rate volatility.
Demand has therefore shifted away from speculative investors seeking quick gains toward longer-term savers seeking wealth preservation and portfolio diversification.
However, the recent market conditions are producing increased investment redemption behavior for two distinctly different reasons.
For one thing, some investors who purchased coins during the sharp rally of 2024 and early 2025 have chosen to redeem and realize substantial capital gains before prices weaken further. Such profit-taking behaviour is common when a previously fast-rising asset enters a period of stagnation.
For another, many investors purchased gold coins specifically as a hedge against cedi depreciation. The cedi’s sustained strength has reduced the urgency for such protection. Investors who believe the cedi will remain stable now see less reason to continue holding gold and therefore are increasing redemptions.
However, gold market analysts in Ghana assure that large-scale panic redemptions are unlikely because gold remains a globally recognized store of value and continues to trade at historically high levels despite recent weakness. Furthermore, concerns about global economic uncertainty still support some demand for gold as a safe-haven asset.
The GoldBod Gold Tablet however serves a somewhat different market from BoG gold coins. The tablets are generally more affordable and accessible to smaller retail investors.
Nevertheless, the same economic forces apply. The stronger cedi means that imported goods are becoming relatively cheaper while inflationary pressures have eased. As a result, households are feeling less need to convert savings into gold as a hedge against currency depreciation.
The stagnation in gold prices also weakens expectations of near-term capital gains. Retail investors who previously bought tablets anticipating further sharp increases in value are now postponing purchases until a clearer trend emerges.
Demand for the Gold Tablets therefore remains positive but at a slower pace than during the strong bull market conditions of 2025 and early 2026.
Investment analysts point out that Gold Tablet redemptions are more sensitive to short-term household liquidity needs than BoG Gold Coin redemptions because tablet holders generally include smaller investors.
The combination of a stronger cedi and reduced expectations for gold price appreciation is encouraging some holders to cash out accumulated gains. This is leading to a moderate increase in redemptions relative to the rapid accumulation phase experienced previously.
However, GoldBod’s aggressive promotion of gold ownership and growing public familiarity with gold-based savings products should help prevent a dramatic rise in redemptions.
What may happen next?
Looking ahead through the remainder of 2026, investment analysts expect demand for both BoG Gold Coins and GoldBod Gold Tablets to remain subdued compared with the exceptional levels recorded during the gold rally of 2025 and early 2026.
If the cedi remains strong and global gold prices continue to trade sideways rather than upwards, purchases are likely to be driven primarily by long-term wealth preservation motives rather than expectations of rapid gains. Under this scenario, demand would remain positive but moderate.
Redemptions are likely to stay elevated relative to 2025 as some investors lock in profits accumulated during the preceding bull market. However, a wave of large-scale selling appears unlikely because gold prices remain historically high and continue to provide diversification benefits.
“The key variable remains the international gold market” asserts a gold market specialist in a leading Ghanaian investment management firm. “Should global gold prices resume their upward trajectory, demand for both products could quickly rebound despite cedi strength. Conversely, a sustained decline in gold prices combined with continued cedi appreciation would likely depress new purchases further and encourage additional redemptions.”
As Fitch Solutions has warned, countries and investors that accumulated gold during the recent price boom face valuation risks if bullion prices retreat materially from their peaks. With such a scenario now a possibility, little wonder that even retail investors in Ghana have adopted a more cautious strategic stance on their investments.
By: Toma Imirhe / businesspostonline
