Currency News [February 12, 2024]

The Cedi remained troubled at this week’s opening as it fell across the board against its three major trading partner currencies on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform. On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the local unit lost traction as it recorded losses against the Pound and the Euro, but came in strong to pare some of its recent losses against the Dollar.

The Cedi’s performance comes amidst a USD 3.0 million in forex support released by the central bank on the spot market in an attempt to meet the growing demand for forex by importers seeking to restock after the festive season as well as businesses ahead of their annual general meetings. Although it is expected that the recently released funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank will continue to give some support to the Cedi, the emergence of demand pressures as well as the suspension of one of the key revenue drives to support the economy’s recovery is likely mount pressures on the Cedi in the short to medium term.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi declined by 0.75%, 1.44%, and 1.05% to open the week trading at GHS 12.1671, GHS 15.3463, and GHS 13.0953 from last week’s opening trade values of GHS 12.0771, GHS 15.1290, and GHS 12.9596 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Dollar stayed firm against a basket of currencies after data on unemployment benefits again supported evidence of a resilient US labour market, further reinforcing the Fed’s stance that interest rates are unlikely to be cut in the near term.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi climbed up by 0.03% to open the week at a trade value of GHS 12.4427 at this week’s opening from last week’s opening trade quote of GHS 12.4464 against the Dollar. Against the Pound and the Euro, the Cedi weakened by 0.40% and 0.19% after opening the week at trade values of GHS 15.7137 and GHS 13.4148 from last week’s opening trade values of GHS 15.6512 and GHS 13.3887 respectively. The Pound and the Euro gained against a host of currencies as officials of the Bank of England and the European Central Bank pushed back against the market’s bets on early rate cuts.

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 12.1671 indicating a YTD loss of 2.34% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 12.4427 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 11.9945 indicating a YTD loss of 3.74%.