Currency News [June 13, 2022]

The Ghana Cedi opened the week mixed against its three major trading partner currencies on both the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform and the Open Forex Market (oanda.com). The Cedi’s performance comes after the latest consumer price statistics revealed that inflation further worsened in May as currency depreciation sends the prices of imported items soaring. Pressures are now building on the central bank to tighten policy to attract offshores whilst seeking to prevent portfolio disinvestments.

News that Ghana had raised USD 750.0 million through a syndicated loan facility offered by a consortium of eight African and European banks and a further USD 250.0 million from multilateral lenders as part of the government’s efforts to raise USD 2.0 billion to shore up the country’s reserve and to support the budget will be expected to give the local unit some respite in the short-term. The remainder will be expected to be raised later in the year.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi depreciated by 0.75% to trade at GHS 7.2036 at the start of the week from last week’s opening quote of GHS 7.1497 against the Dollar. The greenback rose against a host of peers after US inflation printed at a four-decade high, raising hopes of more aggressive rate hikes by the Fed. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi surged by 2.37% and 1.93% to open the week trading at GHS 8.7610 and GHS 7.5124 from last week’s opening trade values of GHS 8.9736 and GHS 7.6599 respectively.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi was down by 1.31% against the Dollar as it moved from last week’s opening quote of GHS 7.9080 to open this week at GHS 8.0117. The Cedi gathered momentum to post gains against the Pound and the Euro, strengthening by 1.31% and 1.15% to trade at GHS 9.7786 and GHS 8.3767 at the start of the week from last week’s opening trade figures of GHS 9.9089 and GHS 8.4738 respectively. The Cedi added to its previous gains against the Pound after GDP figures in the UK showed an economy struggling to pick up pace.

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 7.2036 indicating a year-to-date (YTD) loss of 19.88% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 8.0117 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 6.2112 indicating a YTD loss of 28.99%.