Currency News [April 17, 2023]

After a recent streak of gains, the Ghana Cedi lost traction as it came under intense pressure last week, erasing most of the gains chalked over the past few weeks. On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi fell across the board against its three major trading currencies, highlighting renewed underlying Cedi pressures. On the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi traded mixed as it fell against the Dollar and the Euro but rose against the Pound to build on last week’s gain.

The Cedi nursed losses against its major peers following the lack of clarity over the pace of Ghana securing an IMF deal and as recently published inflation data revealed the prevalence of price pressures which is expected to prompt major central banks to hike rates. An assurance given by Ghana’s finance minister that an IMF board approval is expected in May is likely to help calm the market to give the local unit some respite. The Cedi is also expected to benefit from a USD 250.0 million commitment by the World Bank to the Ghana Stability Fund, a fund set aside to provide liquidity support to financial sector players affected by the domestic debt restructuring programme.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi traded down by 0.11% each against the Dollar and the Euro after it opened the week quoted at GHS 10.9473 and GHS 11.9457 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 10.9353 and GHS 11.9323 respectively. The single currency continued to remain in high demand among market players after data showed that price pressures in the Eurozone’s biggest economy remained elevated, pointing to the ECB continuing its rate hikes. Against the Pound, the Cedi traded up, recording a weekly gain of 0.49% after it traded at GHS 13.5297 at this week’s open from GHS 13.5969 at last week’s opening.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi dipped by 9.44%, 9.39%, and 10.21% to trade at GHS 11.9592, GHS 14.8205, and GHS 13.1026 at the week’s open from last week’s opening trade quote of GHS 10.9273, GHS 13.5477, and GHS 11.8892 against the Dollar, the Pound and the Euro respectively. Expectations that the Bank of England will raise rates again at its May sitting boosted the Pound’s appeal as inflation in the UK continued to trend in the double digits.

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 10.9473 indicating a year-to-date (YTD) loss of 27.44% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 11.9592 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 10.0825 indicating a YTD loss of 18.61%.