The festive season in Ghana wasn’t just about celebrations, it also saw a surge in cash activity. By December 2024, cash outside banks reached an impressive ₵64.1 billion, rising from ₵63.2 billion in November, as households and businesses kept money flowing for year-end spending.
This spike highlights how the holidays fueled economic activity, with demand deposits also remaining robust at ₵104.1 billion.
Reserve money, basically the cash that keeps the financial system running, dropped slightly from ₵134.6 billion in November to ₵130.5 billion in December.
It’s a small dip after months of steady growth, thanks to the Bank of Ghana’s Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) policy that had earlier pushed banks to keep more money in reserves.
On the flip side, the money we use every day, technically called Narrow Money (M1), kept growing. By the end of December, M1 hit ₵168.3 billion, up from ₵165.7 billion in November.
Most of this came from cash outside banks, which rose from ₵63.2 billion to ₵64.1 billion, and demand deposits, which stayed strong at ₵104.1 billion. Clearly, people were keeping their money active, either in wallets or ready to spend.
Broad Money (M2), which adds savings and time deposits to the mix—saw a slight increase too, climbing to ₵247.8 billion in December from ₵244.1 billion in November.
Savings and time deposits ticked up a bit, reaching ₵79.5 billion by year-end, as businesses and households seemed to tuck away a little more cash during the festive season.
Total liquidity, the big picture that includes foreign currency deposits (M2+), rose from ₵326.2 billion in November to ₵329.7 billion in December. Foreign currency deposits remained stable at ₵82.0 billion, showing no major changes in dollar-related activity.
Private sector credit, the money lent to businesses and individuals, nudged up from ₵88.5 billion in November to ₵89.1 billion in December.
But when adjusted for inflation, the real value of this credit slipped slightly from ₵362.3 billion to ₵358.9 billion, meaning rising prices continued to take a bite out of borrowing power.
