Currency News [October 30, 2023]

The Cedi remained pressured at this week’s opening as it continued to nurse losses against its three major trading partner currencies. It fell across the board against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) whilst on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform, it traded down against the Dollar and the Euro but gathered momentum to trim some of its recent losses against the Pound.

The Cedi has over the past few weeks witnessed renewed pressures as demand for forex picks up steadily amid limited supply following the uncertainties surrounding the disbursement of the second tranche of support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Although Ghana has already received some assurances of debt restructuring from France and China, the IMF has said the disbursement of the next USD 600.00 under the Fund’s supported programme will be contingent on the finalization of an agreement with the nation’s external creditors. It is expected that this inflow when finalized as well as the coming on board of a USD 800 million cocoa syndicated loan will boost the Cedi’s outlook.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi declined by 0.26% and 0.02% to open the week trading at GHS 11.4770 and GHS 12.1879 from last week’s opening trade values of GHS 11.4476 and GHS 12.1851 against the Dollar and the Euro respectively. Against the Pound, the Cedi recovered 0.33% to open the week at a trade value of GHS 13.9515 from last week’s opening trade quote of GHS 13.9970. The Pound was weighed down by concerns about the UK economy following the recent disappointing UK labour market indicators and as the market braces for a pause in the UK’s rate tightening cycle.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi plummeted by 0.99%, 0.53%, and 0.69% from last week’s opening trade values of GHS 11.8026, GHS 14.3904, and GHS 12.5340 to open this week trading at GHS 11.9191, GHS 14.4660, and GHS 12.6207 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Dollar remained firm against many major currencies buoyed by signs of US economic strength amid expectations of another rate hike as data points to a still-resilient US economy.

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 11.4770 indicating a YTD loss of 33.60% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 11.9191 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 10.0825 indicating a YTD loss of 18.26%.