By Arret Jatta
Governor Buah Saidy of the Central Bank said on Thursday that said that the country’s international reserves remain strong, standing at US$508.54 million as at end May 2025, which he said is enough to cover over 4-6 months of anticipated imports of goods and services.
Speaking at the monetary policy committee meeting’s press conference, Mr Saidy further reported that preliminary data has indicated an improved fiscal position for the government in the first quarter of 2025, fueled by solid revenue performance.
“The deficit, excluding grants, decreased to D2.7 billion (1.6 percent of GDP), a notable improvement from D4.6 billion (2.6 percent of GDP) reported in the previous year, while the total revenue and grants saw a 14.5 percent increase during the period, reaching D8.8 billion (5.1 percent of GDP). Expenditure and net lending also increased slightly by 0.2 percent, totaling D10.1 billion (5.8 percent of GDP),” he said.
He revealed that the annual money supply grew by 11.3 percent in March 2025, up from 9.4 percent in 2024, an increase he said, was driven by net foreign assets of the banking system.
He also noted that the Gambian economy continues to register strong growth, with a positive medium-term outlook.
However, Governor Saidy warned that that elevated global uncertainties underscore the need to sustain reforms, reinforce fiscal prudence and build policy buffers to enhance resilience and safeguard macroeconomic stability.
