Adds background, details

ACCRA, May 17 (Reuters) – Ghana has launched a bulk buying program to purchase gold locally to increase the gold component of its reserves, Central Bank Governor Ernest Addison said on Tuesday. in an effort to strengthen the cedi currency without increasing inflation.

“We have started a wholesale, domestic buying program where we buy gold locally and try to increase the gold component of our reserve level. That’s where the currency is focused,” Addison told a conference.

The gold, oil and cocoa-producing country saw consumer inflation hit an 18-year high of nearly 24% in April despite efforts to contain price rises and spur the recovery.

The Ghanaian cedi experienced the worst depreciation against the dollar of any currency outside the Russian ruble between January and March, according to Reuters data. Its value has mostly stabilized since then, although it saw another drop in the past week.

(Reporting by Cooper Inveen Writing by Nellie Peyton Editing by James Macharia Chege)

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