Ghana’s public debt ratio rose to 71.9% of GDP by June’s end, the highest since the prior December when it stood at 77.5%. The total debt rose to 575.5 bln cedis, up from 393.5 bln cedis the previous year. Although the budget deficit narrowed to 1.3% of GDP and the primary balance improved, the country experienced a downturn in both exports and imports. Furthermore, the gross international reserves decreased to USD 5.1 bln, and the banks’ annual credit growth decelerated. Additionally, non-performing loans increased to 20%.