Currency News [July 3, 2023]

The 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) where it nursed losses against the Dollar and the Euro but firmed up to claw back some of its recent losses against the Pound. The Cedi has over the past few weeks remained steady against some of its trading peers under an IMF-supported programme as investor sentiments begin to improve.

The Cedi ended the first half of the year with a year-to-date (YTD) depreciation of 28.08% against the Dollar on the BoG inter-bank trading platform slightly better than a YTD loss of 28.27% as at the close of the first quarter of the year where the Cedi underwent a sharp decline. The Cedi’s steady performance has come on the back of the suspension of interest payments on some Dollar-denominated bonds, creating the space for the central bank to increase its intervention in the spot market. Last week, the central bank sold USD 25.0 million to support the local unit.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi fell by 0.07% and 0.11% to trade at GHS 11.0024 and GHS 12.0098 at this week’s open from last week’s opening trade values of GHS 10.9952 and GHS 11.9969 against the Dollar and the Euro respectively. Against the Pound, the Cedi soared by 0.12% to begin the week at a trade value of GHS 13.9686, having risen from GHS 13.9848 at last week’s open. The pound fell against a host of currencies over concerns that continuous hiking of interest rates to tame red-hot inflation numbers may weaken the UK economy.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi lost by 0.06% each against the Dollar and the Euro to begin the week at trade values of GHS 11.4940 and GHS 12.5359 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 11.4866 and GHS 12.5290 respectively. The Dollar added to its gains against the Cedi after economic data revealed that the US labour market remained on a solid footing, giving the Fed an additional policy space to continue with its rate hikes. Against the Pound, the Cedi climbed up by 0.20% from last week’s opening trade quote of GHS 14.6151 to begin this week at a trade value of GHS 14.5853.

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 11.0024 indicating a YTD loss of 28.08% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 11.4940 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 10.0825 indicating a YTD loss of 14.00%.