Currency News [October 23, 2023]

The Cedi continued to be hard hit ahead of next month’s budget presentation where the market is expecting the government to announce strategies to consolidate the economy’s recovery. The Cedi nursed losses across the board against its three major trading partner currencies in what appears to be a renewed pressure on the local currency as demand for forex by importers and corporate bodies surges whilst supply remains limited.

Although the Cedi is expected to pare some of its recent losses on the back of expected inflows from the cocoa syndicated loan proceeds and the second disbursement of the USD 600.0 million under the IMF’s programme, the Cedi’s outlook remains gloomy as Ghana must fight its way through to secure a financing assurances agreement with its bilateral lenders.

On the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi plunged by 1.08%, 1.26%, and 2.01% to begin the week trading at GHS 11.4476, GHS 13.9970, and GHS 12.1851 from last week’s trade values of GHS 11.3251, GHS 13.8222, and GHS 11.9446 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Dollar was lifted higher by investors positioning themselves for the Federal Reserve to hold rates higher for longer amidst a rise in US bond yields which spurred demand for Dollar liquidity.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi declined by 0.18%, 0.27%, and 0.93% to trade at GHS 11.8026, GHS 14.3904, and GHS 12.5340 at this week’s opening from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 11.7819, GHS 14.3511, and GHS 12.4179 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The local unit fell against the Pound despite a release of data publications which revealed a collapse in British consumer confidence this month following weak sales in September.

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 11.4476 indicating a YTD loss of 33.26% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 11.8026 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 10.0825 indicating a YTD loss of 17.06%.