Currency News for February 8th 2021

As the gradual rollout of COVID-19 vaccines began to boost investor’s appeal for risky assets, the Ghanaian Cedi harnessed this development to further extend its relative stability against its three major trading pairs. On the open forex market (oanda.com), the Cedi remained on its rollercoaster ride against the US Dollar as it posted its fourth consecutive weekly gain. On the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi registered gains against the Dollar and the Euro but lost traction against the British Pound Sterling.

The Cedi’s impressive performance so far in the year has come on the back of renewed inflow of foreign portfolio investments as offshore investors seek to exploit opportunities on the domestic market. Strong demand for Ghanaian equities and debt assets has seen the stock market begin to rebound from years of losses. A slowdown in demand for forex by importers amid a higher offer amount for the BoG’s forward forex rate auctions has also been supportive of the Cedi’s recent performance.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi appreciated by 0.01% and 0.48% to begin the week trading at GHC 5.7632 and GHC 6.9375 from previous week’s opening trade values of GHC 5.7635 and GHC 6.9709 against the Dollar and the Euro respectively. The Dollar was hurt by disappointing US Non-farm payroll data which came in weaker than anticipated and cast doubts about the pace of economic recovery in the US. Against the Pound, the Cedi traded at GHC 7.9123 at the start of the week against previous week’s trade value of GHC 7.8862.

On the Open Forex Market, the Cedi soared by 0.52%, 0.35%, and 0.97% to trade at GHC 5.8167, GHC 7.9844, and GHC 7.0043 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.8472, GHC 8.0125, and GHC 7.0728 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Cedi recovered from previous week’s low against the Pound after UK data showed that the nationwide lockdown is hurting consumer spending.

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 5.7632 [February 8th, 2021] indicating a 0.00% year-to-date depreciation. Similarly, on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Ghanaian Cedi traded at GHC 5.8885 [January 4th, 2021] and is currently trading at GHC 5.8167 [February 8th, 2021], representing a 1.22% year-to-date appreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.