By: Nicholas Bass
Gambia’s domestic foreign exchange market has shown robust activity, with total foreign currency sales and purchases reaching US$1.3 billion in the first half of 2025, Central Bank announced yesterday.
This, according to Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) Governor, Buah Saidy, represents an 8.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Speaking at the Monetary Policy Committee press briefing held at the CBG office in Banjul, Governor Saidy attributed the growth to several factors, including a 4.9 percent year-on-year increase in private remittance inflows, which amounted to US$426.0 million from January to June 2025. Rising tourism revenue also contributed to improved foreign currency liquidity.
Saidy highlighted the banking sector’s resilience and stability, noting strong capital and liquidity levels. “Total industry assets expanded by 7.2 percent between March and June 2025, reaching D110.9 billion, equivalent to 64.3 percent of GDP,” he said.
Customer deposits also rose to D81.4 billion, reflecting sustained public confidence in the banking system.
However, the governor also noted a weakening of the Gambian Dalasi against major international currencies. The Dalasi depreciated by 0.8 percent against the US dollar, 7.6 percent against the Euro, 5.0 percent against the British pound, and 1.5 percent against the CFA franc.
Despite this, gross international reserves strengthened, reaching US$502.4 million by the end of July 2025, an increase from US$486.6 million at the end of March 2025.
Preliminary estimates for the first half of 2025, he says, indicate that the government’s overall fiscal deficit, excluding grants, narrowed from D11.0 billion (7.7 percent of GDP) in the first half of 2024 to D11.6 billion (7.4 percent of GDP) in the first half of 2025.
He went on to state that the stock of domestic debt saw a marginal increase of 1.5 percent from December 2024 to July 2025, reaching D47.1 billion. However, the domestic debt-to-GDP ratio decreased from 24.3 percent in December 2024 to 23.5 percent in July 2025.
The CBG Governor stated that domestic price pressures have continued to moderate, with inflation easing to 7.2 percent in June 2025, its lowest level since 2021.
However, food inflation increased to 8.5 percent in July from 7.9 percent in June, driven by higher global prices for vegetable oil and meat, as well as seasonal pressures on perishable goods.
“The Central Bank will continue to strengthen its regulatory framework, enhance cyber security, and modernize its payment systems to ensure that growth of fintech and mobile money leads to a more inclusive and sustainable financial sector,” Mr. Saidy assured.
