Currency News for August 9th 2021

After the central bank left the policy rate unchanged at 13.5% in its quest to contain adverse effects of fiscal slippages on the economy, the Cedi at the start of the week registered 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 was mixed as it extended its losses against the US Dollar and the British Pound Sterling but gained attraction against the Euro.

The Cedi in recent times has come under pressure against some of its major trading peers as demand for forex by businesses and importers heightens. This has come on the back of strong demand for forex by businesses seeking to make dividend payments to offshore investors as well as rising import bills as most economies open up fully for foreign trade. Data released by the BoG reveals that total imports as of the close of the first of the year stood at USD 6.76 billion compared with USD 6.39 billion over the same period last year.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi depreciated by 0.31% and 0.05% to trade at GHC 5.8232 and GHC 8.0710 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.8050 and GHC 8.0672 against the Dollar and the Pound respectively. The Dollar remained strong against most of its trading pairs last week propelled by rising US yields and a better than expected non-farm payrolls report. Against the Euro, the Cedi came in strong as it surged by 0.77% to trade at GHC 6.8439 at the start of the week from last week’s opening trade value of GHC 6.8968.

On the Open Forex Market (onda.com), the Cedi gained momentum as it ended two consecutive weekly losses against its three major trading partner currencies. It soared by 0.13%, 0.38%, and 1.17%  to open the week trading at GHC 5.9982, GHC 8.3163, and GHC 7.0493 from last week’s opening trade values of GHC 6.0060, GHC 8.3483, and GHC 7.1328 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively.

According to the BoG 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 5.8232 [August 9th, 2021] indicating a 1.04% 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 5.9982 [August 9th, 2021], representing a 1.86% year-to-date depreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.