Ghana working on plan to buy oil with gold rather than dollar

Ghana's government is working on a new policy regime where gold will be used to buy oil products rather than U.S. dollar reserves, Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia said on Facebook on Thursday.

The move is meant to tackle dwindling foreign exchange reserves coupled with demand for foreign exchange by oil importers, which is weakening the local cedi and increasing living costs. If implemented as envisioned, the new policy "will fundamentally change our balance of payments and significantly reduce the persistent depreciation of our currency," Bawumia said.