Currency News for September 28th 2020

The Ghana Cedi maintained its relative stability against its three trading partner currencies on both the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform and on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com). The Cedi’s performance in the first 9 months of the year has been described as resilient compared to its performance over the same period last year. This has mainly come on the back of supportive monetary and fiscal policies. The currency, this week, posted a mixed performance against the US Dollar, the British Pound Sterling, and the Euro.

Commenting on the Cedi’s performance after maintaining the policy rate at 14.5% for the third consecutive time, the Governor of the central bank expressed optimism in the ability of the local currency to sustain its relative stability to the end of the year. Dr. Ernest Addison explained that the rise in residents’ holdings in domestic assets to offset the significant decline in non-resident investors’ share in domestic assets has helped to lower the Cedi’s vulnerability. Measures embarked upon by the BoG aimed at building additional reserves should further help to curb demand pressures in the yuletide.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi depreciated by 0.03% and 0.94% to trade at GHC 5.7048 and GHC 7.3300 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.7029 and 7.2614 against the Dollar and the Pound respectively. The Dollar rose against most of its trading pairs on its safe-haven appeal as investors remained wary about slowing economic recovery, rising coronavirus infections in some parts of the world, and uncertainties surrounding the US elections. Against the Euro, the Cedi traded at GHC 6.6498 at the start of the week after gaining 0.44% from GHC 6.6790 traded last week.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi appreciated by 0.03% and 0.74% to begin the week trading at GHC 5.8158 and GHC 6.7765 from previous week’s trade figures of GHC 5.8174 and GHC 6.8271 against the Dollar and the Euro respectively. Against the Pound, it lost traction as it declined by 0.36% to trade at GHC 7.4602 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade value of GHC 7.4333. The Pound recorded its first weekly gain in four weeks against the Cedi on hopes that the UK and the European Union can reach a trade agreement by the expiry date of the Brexit transition period.

According to the Bank of Ghana inter-bank rates, the Ghanaian Cedi began the year 2020 at GHC 5.5370 [January 2nd, 2020] against the US Dollar and is currently selling at GHC 5.7048 [September 28th, 2020] indicating a 3.03% year-to-date depreciation. Similarly, on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Ghanaian Cedi traded at GHC 5.6961 [January 2nd, 2020] and is currently trading at GHC 5.8158 [September 28th, 2020], representing a 2.10% year-to-date depreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.