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Currency News for November 8, 2021

After a surprise shift in policy directions of major international central banks, the Cedi registered a reprieve as it posted its first week-on-week rise in seven weeks against the Dollar on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com). As against expectations, major central banks such as the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England (BoE), and the European Central Bank stayed dovish as they pushed back hopes of early rate increases and embraced a wait-and-see approach. The Cedi subsequently maintained its footing as it added to its gains against the Pound and the Euro on both the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform and the Open Forex Market.

Investors await two key events, the presentation of the 2022 budget statement and the last monetary policy rate decision for 2021, for guidance. These events will provide further clarification on the government’s stance on possible rate hikes, the ballooning public debt stock, and forex reserves position, among others.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi drifted lower by 0.02% to trade at GHC 5.9053 at the start of the week from last week’s opening quote of GHC 5.9039 against the Dollar. The greenback extended its run against the local unit after data showed stronger US job growth in October, showing economic activity steadily regaining momentum. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi nudged higher by 0.78% and 0.04% to open the week trading at GHC 8.0034 and GHC 6.8423 from last week’s opening quotes of GHC 8.0664 and GHC 6.8452 respectively.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi edged up by 0.10%, 1.20%, and 0.12% to trade at GHC 6.1395, GHC 8.3008, and GHC 7.1061 at the start of the week from last week’s opening quotes of GHC 6.1455, GHC 8.4013, and GHC 7.1148 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Pound fell against a host of peers after a BoE decision to hold steady its rock-bottom benchmark rate at 0.10% against market expectations.

According to the BoG inter-bank rates, the Ghana Cedi began the year 2021 at GHC 5.7631 [January 4th, 2021] against the US Dollar and is currently quoted at GHC 5.9053 [November 8, 2021] indicating a 2.47% year-to-date (ytd) depreciation. Similarly, on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Ghana Cedi traded at GHC 5.8885 [January 4th, 2021] and is currently trading at GHC 6.1395 [November 8, 2021], representing a 4.26% ytd depreciation against the US Dollar.

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