Currency News [September 26, 2022]

The Ghana Cedi began the week posting mixed results against its three major trading partner currencies in response to an exercise by the central bank to clamp down on unlicensed foreign currency dealers operating in the national capital. The special operation was undertaken in collaboration with the police service and aimed at sanitizing the domestic foreign exchange market and to enforce compliance from licensed forex operators.

Continued demand for the US Dollar led the Cedi to sustain another major weekly decline this week after last week’s 9.10% loss despite news that Ghanaian and IMF officials were to begin a series of meetings to establish a macro-fiscal path that ensures debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability. The Cedi was, however, heavily weighed down by a recent downgrade of Ghana’s credit rating by Fitch from CCC to CC. Fitch cited possible debt restructuring, and higher debt service, among others as reasons for the fresh downgrade.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi lost by 5.90% and 1.80% to trade at GHS 9.5461 and GHS 9.1822 at this week’s open from last week’s opening quote of GHS 9.0145 and GHS 9.0200 against the Dollar and the Euro respectively. Against the Pound, the Cedi traded higher by 0.89%, opening the week at GHS 10.1885 from last week’s opening quote of GHS 10.2801. The Pound nursed losses against a host of currencies as doubts grew over the UK’s fiscal stability, deteriorating after the country announced extensive tax cuts in the face of a looming recession.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi fell by 1.68% against the Dollar after opening the week being sold at GHS 10.2595 from last week’s opening trade value of GHS 10.0902. The Cedi was up by 4.72% and 1.99% against the Pound and the Euro, having moved up from GHS 11.5090 and GHS 10.0919 to open this week at GHS 10.9657 and GHS 9.8907 respectively. The Euro traded lower against a host of currencies over growing concerns of worsening economic conditions in Europe after surveys showed a downturn in business activities across the bloc.

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 9.5461 indicating a year-to-date (YTD) loss of 58.86% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 10.2595 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 6.2112 indicating a YTD loss of 65.18%.