Currency News for December 8th 2020

The Ghanaian Cedi began the first working day of the week extending its weekly losses against the US Dollar on both the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform and on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) as fears of post-election violence heightens. Uncertainties surrounding the outcome of the general elections coupled with rising demand for forex has mounted pressures on the Cedi as the year draws to a close.

The local currency is, however, expected to post its biggest performance against the Dollar in more than 5 years as robust policies implemented by the central bank has mainly been supportive of the Cedi. Election-related uncertainties, rising import bills ahead of the Christmas festivities, widened fiscal gap among other factors are anticipated to further pressure the Cedi to extend its losses against some of its major trading partner currencies.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi depreciated by 0.01% and 0.91% to trade at GHC 5.7171 and GHC 6.9219 at the start of the week from previous week’s opening values of GHC 5.7168 and GHC 6.8593 against the Dollar and the Euro respectively. Against the British Pound Sterling, the Cedi recorded its first gain in more than one month after it surged by 0.44% to begin the week trading at GHC 7.6134 from previous week’s trade values of GHC 7.6467. Absence of clarity concerning Britain’s divorce from the European Union less than a month from the deadline to trade negotiations kept the Pound posting losses against many of its trading pairs including the Cedi.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi fell by 0.22%, 0.29%, and 1.46% to begin the week trading at GHC 5.8857, GHC 7.8578, and GHC 7.1297 from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.8728, GHC 7.8348, and GHC 7.0272 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Cedi fell against the Dollar despite a rise in investors’ risk appetite as investors’ begin the short on the greenback on optimism about the COVID-19 vaccine.

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 5.7171 [December 8th, 2020] indicating a 3.25% 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 5.8851 [December 8th, 2020], representing a 3.33% year-to-date depreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.