Currency News [January 9, 2024]

The Cedi began the week posting a strong performance against its three major trading partner currencies on the Open Forex Market where it maintained its firm footing against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro to build on last week’s gains. It, however, traded mixed against its basket of three most traded pairs on the Bank of Ghana (BOG) inter-bank trading platform, weakening against the Dollar and the Pound but coming in strong against the Euro.

The Cedi’s performance comes as Ghana readies to receive a draft term sheet from the Official Creditors’ Committee later in the week for the restructuring of the sovereign’s USD 5.4 billion external debt. The term sheet is expected to commence processes for Ghana to receive about USD 1.1 billion in monetary assistance from both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These inflows will be expected to sustain the Cedi in the near term.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi plummeted by 0.03% and 0.60% to begin the week trading at GHS 11.8928 and GHS 15.1110 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 11.8888 and GHS 15.0204 against the Dollar and the Pound respectively. The Dollar’s appeal was boosted by stronger-than-expected nonfarm payrolls data, which dented expectations for an early interest rate cut by the US Fed. Against the Euro, the Cedi traded up by 0.33% to trade at GHS 12.9920 at the week’s open from last week’s opening trade quote of GHS 13.0351.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi hardened by 0.21%, 0.27%, and 1.01% to open the week at trade values of GHS 11.9694, GHS 15.2313, and GHS 13.1058 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 11.9945, GHS 15.2718, and GHS 13.2401 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Euro was hurt by a recent string of economic data suggesting that the Eurozone may be heading into a recession in the final quarter of this year.

The Cedi was quoted at GHC 11.8859 on the first trading day of the year against the Dollar and is currently being sold at GHS 11.8928 indicating a YTD loss of 0.03% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 11.9694 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 11.9945 indicating a YTD gain of 0.21%.