On the international commodities market, trends in the prices of Ghana’s major export commodities were mixed, the Bank of Ghana has told journalists at a media briefing on the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut the policy rate from 29 per cent to 27 per cent.

Governor Ernest Addison reported that from the beginning of the year to August 2024, crude oil prices declined by 2.1 per cent to settle at an average price of US$78.92 per barrel.

This was due to slowing demand in China.

Also, U.S. cocoa prices eased to US$7,409.50 per tonne in August.

This was after it climbed to an all-time high of US$10,116.86 per tonne in April 2024.

In contrast, he said gold prices rose by 21.3 per cent on year-to-date to an average price of US$2,469.39 per fine ounce on the back of geopolitical tensions and expectations of rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.