Currency News for April 6th 2021

The Ghana Cedi fell across the board against its three major trading partner currencies on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform for the first time in more than two months as demand for forex gradually picked up pace. The BoG’s forex forward rates auctions, an indicator for forex demand, showed that the bid cover ratio rose from 0.68 times in early March to 1.61 times in late March and finally to 2.28 times this week.

The Cedi’s performance this week comes after Ghana successfully issued USD 3.025 billion from the international market through a Eurobond transaction which was largely oversubscribed, pointing to rising investor confidence in the Ghanaian economy even in the era of a global pandemic. The Eurobond was issued in four different tranches including a novel 4-year zero-coupon bond for the West African nation. Proceeds from the bond are expected to further strengthen the country’s international forex reserves which stood at USD 8.72 billion as of February.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi dipped by 0.01%, 0.46%, and 0.57% to begin the week trading at GHC 5.7325, GHC 7.9440, and GHC 6.7898 from previous week’s opening trade figures of GHC 5.7317, GHC 7.9074, and GHC 6.7515 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Dollar rose against the local currency for the fourth consecutive time as positive Dollar sentiments continue to improve on the back of rising US Treasury yields. The greenback was also sustained this week by robust jobs data which painted a picture that the US economy was on the path of economic recovery.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi rose by 0.07% to trade at GHC 5.7797 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade value of GHC 5.7837 against the Dollar. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi tumbled by 0.43% and 0.41% at the start of the week to trade at GHC 8.0087 and GHC 6.8395 from previous week’s trade value of GHC 7.9745 and GHC 6.8115 respectively. The Euro built on its previous week’s gains against the local currency despite the Eurozone being hit with a third wave of COVID with some countries announcing new lockdown measures.

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 5.7325 [April 6th, 2021] indicating a 0.53% year-to-date appreciation. 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 5.7837 [April 6th, 2021], representing a 1.85% year-to-date appreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.