Currency News [August 28, 2023]

The Cedi was mixed at this week’s open 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 the local unit fell against the Dollar but came in strong against the Pound and the Euro to recover parts of previous weeks’ losses against the pair.

The Cedi’s performance comes after the government made a GHS 2.4 billion in coupon payments to holders of bonds under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) arrangement, a move analysts believe is expected to bolster investor confidence. Progress made by the Ghanaian government to restructure the remaining public debt, which according to sources has progressed to an appreciable stage, is expected to further restore confidence in the Ghanaian economy to strengthen the Cedi’s outlook.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi dipped by 0.07% to open the week at a trade value of GHS 11.0187 from last week’s opening trade value of GHS 11.0106 against the Dollar. The Dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies after data revealed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits declined last week, adding to a series of economic data that have helped ease concerns of an impending US recession. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi soared by 1.20% and 0.79% to trade at GHS 13.8737 and GHS 11.9077 at the week’s open from last week’s opening trade values of GHS 14.0429 and GHS 12.0025 respectively.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi plunged by 0.70% from GHS 11.3140 at last week’s open to begin this week at a trade value of GHS 11.3930 against the US Dollar. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi traded higher by 0.49% and 0.04% to begin the week trading at GHS 14.3498 and GHS 12.3176 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 14.4203 and GHS 12.3223 respectively. The Pound weakened against a set of currencies including the Cedi after UK factory output slumped, leaving the economy on course for recession and prompting markets to trim expectations for further rate hikes from the central bank.

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 11.0187 indicating a YTD loss of 28.27% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 11.3930 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 10.0825 indicating a YTD loss of 13.00%.