Currency News for January 11th 2021

The Cedi at the start of the week showed signs of a positive trajectory into the new year as it recorded gains against its three major trading partner currencies on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com). On the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi recorded gains against the British Pound Sterling and the Euro but fell marginally against the US Dollar.

The Cedi’s performance comes after the central bank indicated its intention to continue to pursue measures including the bi-weekly forex forward auctions to sustain the local currency. According to the governor of the central bank, the BoG intends to build an additional reserve of USD 300.00 million in a bid to shore up the supply of forex to meet any surprise shock in forex demand in the first quarter of the year which has traditionally witnessed an intense demand. Earlier on, the forex forward auction calendar for the year released by the BoG showed a much bigger allocation in the first quarter of the year against any demand shock for forex.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi depreciated by 0.01% to trade at GHC 5.7634 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade value of GHC 5.7631. The dollar edged higher against a number of its trading pairs after taking strength from the recent spike in US Treasury yields whilst expectations of more fiscal stimulus in the US lifted the greenback’s appeal. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi gained by 0.81% and 1.04% to trade at GHC 7.7627 and GHC 6.9985 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade values of GHC 7.8257 and GHC 7.0718 respectively.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi strengthened by 0.06%, 1.02%, and 0.85% to begin the week trading at GHC 5.8848, GHC 7.9472, and GHC 7.1609 against previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.8885, GHC 8.0289, and GHC 7.2222 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Pound was hurt by rising expectations of negative interest rates in the UK earlier than expected to counter the economic hit from a third coronavirus national lockdown.

According to the Bank of Ghana inter-bank rates, the Ghanaian Cedi began the year 2021 at GHC 5.7631 [January 4th, 2021] against the US Dollar and is currently selling at GHC 5.7634 [January 11th, 2021] indicating a 0.01% year-to-date depreciation. Similarly, on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Ghanaian Cedi traded at GHC 5.8885 [January 4th, 2020] and is currently trading at GHC 5.8848 [January 11th, 2021], representing a 0.06% year-to-date appreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.