Currency News for June 7th 2021

After Ghana’s central bank delivered a 100 basis points monetary policy rate ease, the Cedi nursed losses against the US Dollar at the start of the week on both the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) inter-bank trading platform and the Open Forex Market (oanda.com). Against the British Pound Sterling and the Euro, the Cedi came in strong as it recorded gains against the pair.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the BoG at its last sitting in May, further reduced the policy rate to 13.5% citing a stable inflationary outlook which is projected to remain anchored within the BoG’s medium-term inflation target band. However, fears that the decline in the policy rate is a signal that general interest rates in the country may take a while before it picks up may stall offshore investors’ participation in local assets to the detriment of the Cedi.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi dipped by 5% to begin the week trading at GHC 5.7531 from previous week’s trade value of GHC 5.7502. The Cedi surged by 0.21% and 0.20% against the Pound and the Euro after it began the week trading at GHC 8.1544 and GHC 7.0164 from previous week’s trade values of GHC 8.1716 and GHC 7.0305 respectively. The Pound weakened against most of its trading pairs as doubts remain over the scheduled date for the final easing of lockdown restrictions following a resurgence in cases.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi tumbled by 0.11% to trade at GHC 5.8036 at the start of the week from previous week’s print of GHC 5.7972 against the Dollar. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi appreciated by 0.12% and 0.16% to begin the week trading at GHC 8.2190 and GHC 7.0664 from last week’s opening trade values of GHC 8.2286 and GHC 7.0776 respectively. The Cedi added onto its last week’s gain against the single currency as disappointing retail data from the Eurozone raised concerns about the pace of the bloc’s recovery.

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 5.7531 [June 7th, 2021] indicating a 0.17% 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 5.8036 [June 7th, 2021], representing a 1.44% year-to-date appreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.