Currency News for June 14th 2021

The Ghana Cedi was mixed at the start of the week against its three major trading partner currencies as a portfolio of local and international events continue to dictate the pace of the local currency. The Cedi repeated its last week’s performance on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform where it lost against the US Dollar but maintained its footing against the British Pound Sterling and Euro. On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi declined against the Dollar and the Pound but rose against the Euro.

The Cedi has since the start of the second quarter of the year been pressured to maintain its gains experienced in the preceding quarter as demand for forex by companies seeking to make dividend payments to offshore investors mounts pressure on the local currency. This, coupled with the gradual reopening of some economies as well as concerns over Ghana’s rising debt stock continue to paint a gloomy picture for the Cedi’s outlook.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi lost by 0.02% against the Dollar to trade at GHC 5.7543 at the start of the week compared with last week’s opening trade figure of GHC 5.7531. The Dollar strengthened against a host of its trading pairs including the Cedi as recent US inflation figures in April and May beat expectations, giving hopes that the Fed may soon reconsider its ultra-ease monetary policy stance. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi soared by 0.37% and 0.55% to begin the week trading at GHC 8.1239 and GHC 6.9775 from previous week’s trade values of GHC 8.1544 and GHC 7.0164 respectively.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi dipped by 0.42% and 0.05% to trade at GHC 5.8281 and GHC 8.2228 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.8036 and GHC 8.2190 against the Dollar and the Pound respectively. Traders and investors bought the Pound after the UK released strong employment and GDP numbers which showed that the UK economy is on a strong recovery path. The Cedi against the Euro gained 0.08% to trade at GHC 7.0606 at the start of the week compared with last week’s opening trade value of GHC 7.0664.

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 5.7543 [June 14th, 2021] indicating a 0.15% year-to-date appreciation. 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 5.8281 [June 14th, 2021], representing a 1.03% year-to-date appreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.