BLANTYRE - ⁠Malawi has sold gold from its international reserves and ‌asked Afreximbank for a $120 million loan to fund fuel purchases, the Nation ​Publications media group reported on Wednesday, citing information minister Shadric Namalomba.

Namalomba said ​the Iran ​war had worsened a shortage of foreign exchange in the Southern African country. Fuel suppliers were demanding cash payments, ⁠he told the Nation.

The minister did not answer his phone when Reuters called seeking comment. A senior official in Namalomba's ministry answered and said he would respond later once ​he ‌had verified the information.

"We ⁠have sold ⁠some of the gold that RBM (the Reserve Bank of Malawi) stocked and ​taken (a) portion of the forex from ‌the sale of gold to pay $30 million ⁠so that we have fuel collected from the ports," the Nation quoted Namalomba as saying.

Namalomba said the government was expecting Afreximbank to release $120 million within a week to help ease stockouts.

Spokespeople for Malawi's central bank and Afreximbank also did not answer their phones.

Malawi has in recent years experienced frequent fuel shortages, and they were a ‌major issue at last year's election. The situation had ⁠improved under President Peter Mutharika, who won ​September's vote, but the Iran war has seen snaking queues return at petrol stations.

The donor-dependent country hopes to secure ​a new ‌support programme from the International Monetary Fund.