Currency News [September 11, 2023]

The Cedi began 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 the Cedi nursed losses against the Dollar but came in strong against the Pound and the Euro to recover sections of previous weeks’ losses. The Cedi continues to maintain a steady performance against its major trading partner currencies after suffering a major turbulence in the first quarter of the year.

The Cedi’s performance this week comes in the wake of positive events which the market believes is expected to further boost the Cedi’s outlook. These events include a notice from the Central Bank stating its intention to auction USD 120 million in its periodic forward forex auctions to bulk oil companies in the last quarter of the year. The recent success in the second phase of the DDEP is similarly expected to improve investor confidence and bolster the Cedi’s performance. The Cedi’s outlook is however likely to be weighed down by the increasing corporate demand for forex ahead of the festive season.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi lost by 0.29% against the Dollar to trade at GHS 11.0586 at this week’s open from last week’s opening trade value of GHS 11.0262. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi hardened by 0.54% and 0.12% to trade at GHS 13.8399 and GHS 11.8848 at this week’s open from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 13.9151 and GHS 11.8993 respectively. The Dollar added to its earlier gains against the Cedi buoyed by data which showed that the US services sector surprisingly picked up steam last month amid a rise in new orders, suggesting persistent inflationary pressures.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi weakened by 0.12% to open the week trading at GHS 11.4631 from last week’s opening trade value of GHS 11.4496 against the Dollar. The Cedi however came in strong against the Pound and the Euro with a gain of 0.72% and 0.41% having risen from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 14.4515 and GHS 12.3581 to begin this week at GHS 14.3471 and GHS 12.3074. The Euro weakened against a host of currencies including the Cedi, hurt by slowing growth in the Eurozone, a phenomenon which is driving a debate on whether to continue with the rate hike trajectory or pause.

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 11.0586 indicating a YTD loss of 28.73% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 11.4631 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 10.0825 indicating a YTD loss of 13.69%.