Currency News [April 11, 2023]

The Cedi opened the week stronger against its three major trading partner currencies after it posted significant gains on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com). On the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi steadied against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro as it traded slightly higher to recover some of its earlier losses.

The Cedi has over the past few days witnessed major moves against some of its major trading peers following optimism clouding Ghana’s negotiations with its bilateral lenders as the sovereign seeks to restructure its USD 58.0 billion worth of debt. The local unit’s performance has also been supported by slower demand for forex by corporates and the central bank’s intervention on both the spot and the forward markets. The outcome of a series of meetings to be held this week to explore compromises over how to restructure the debts of debt-distressed nations will be expected to shape the Cedi’s performance in the short to medium–term.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi traded higher by 0.74%, 0.50%, and 0.56% to open the week at trade values of GHS 10.9353, GHS 13.5969, and GHS 11.9323 from last week’s trade values of GHS 11.0172, GHS 13.6646, and GHS 11.9992 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Dollar slipped against some of its trading peers amid growing uncertainty over the future path of the Fed’s rate hiking cycle after US jobs data missed and continued decline in factory orders signaled that rate hikes may be nearing an end.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi surged by 5.41%, 5.11%, and 5.22% to trade at GHS 10.9273, GHS 13.5477, and GHS 11.8892 at the week’s open from last week’s open trade values of GHS 11.5528, GHS 14.2771, and GHS 12.5437 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Cedi strengthened against the Euro despite expectations of more European Central Bank rate hikes as inflation pressures continue to linger in the Eurozone.

The Cedi was quoted at GHC 8.5903 on the first trading day of the year against the Dollar and is currently being sold at GHS 10.9353 indicating a year-to-date (YTD) loss of 27.30% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 10.9273 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 10.0825 indicating a YTD loss of 8.38%.