Currency News [June 6, 2022]

The Cedi was mixed at the start of the week against its three major trading partner currencies after a disappointing performance last week where it fell across the board against the set of three. Despite the Cedi recording some gains against the Pound, it remained pressured against the Dollar as it lost traction to build on previous weeks’ losses.

The local unit’s performance this week comes amidst Cedi-funding challenges as offshores seek opportunities to offload their holdings in domestic assets in search of higher yields elsewhere. The pressures on the local currency have further been exacerbated by strong corporate demand for forex for dividend payments to offshore investors. The central bank’s recent sale of forex forward rates showed that demand for the Dollar came in at USD 175.75 million, up from USD 161.50 million in mid-May.

On the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi lost by 0.07% against the Dollar to open the week trading at GHS 7.1497 from last week’s opening trade value of GHS 7.1449. The world’s reserve currency rose against a basket of currencies held by rising US Treasury yields and expectations of aggressive monetary policy. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi traded higher by 0.71% and 0.57% as it began the week quoted at GHS 8.9736 and GHS 7.6599 from last week’s opening trade values of GHS 9.0375 and GHS 7.7040 respectively.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi was down by 0.74% and 0.27% against the Dollar and the Euro after it was quoted at GHS 7.9080 and GHS 8.4738 at the start of the week from last week’s opening trade figures of GHS 7.8502 and GHS 8.4510 respectively. The Euro added to its gains against the local unit as expectations continue to grow that the European Central Bank will announce an end to its ultra-ease monetary policy, paving the way for a first rate increase in more than a decade. Against the Pound, the Cedi strengthened by 0.19% to open the week trading at GHS 9.9089 from last week’s opening trade value of GHS 9.9273.

The Cedi was quoted at GHC 6.0091 on the first trading day of the year against the Dollar and is currently being sold at GHS 7.1497 indicating a year-to-date (YTD) loss of 18.98% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 7.9080 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 6.2112 indicating a YTD loss of 27.32%.