Currency News [April 22, 2024]

The Cedi opened 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) as the local unit extended its bullish run against the Pound but lost footing against the Dollar following the greenback’s rollercoaster ride fueled by its safe-haven appeal. Against the Euro, the Cedi lost traction as it fell against the single currency to pare some of its gains recorded last week.

The Cedi’s seeming efforts to crawl back some of its recent losses against its major trading partner currencies comes on the back of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) staff-level agreement reached with the Ghanaian authorities following a successful review of Ghana’s programme with the fund. This, supported by revelations made by the finance minister that the Official Creditor Committee has disseminated the draft document to its members for review and deliberation has helped to calm pressures on the local unit.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi declined by 0.53% and 0.52% against the Dollar and the Euro after it began the week at trade values of GHS 13.0731 and GHS 13.9145 from last week’s opening trade values of GHS 13.0037 and GHS 13.8420 respectively. The Dollar remained elevated against a basket of trading pairs after a run of stronger-than-expected economic data, accompanied by hawkish comments from some Fed officials, forcing the market to pare back expectations of early rate cuts. Against the Pound, the Cedi soared by 0.51% to open the week trading at GHS 16.1296 from last week’s opening trade quote of GHS 16.2117.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi traded down by 0.03% and 0.13% after it was sold at GHS 13.4703 and GHS 14.3520 at the week’s opening from last week’s opening trade values of GHS 13.4669 and GHS 14.3337 against the Dollar and the Euro respectively. The Euro rose to recover some of its losses posted against the Cedi last week, helped by data that revealed that overall business activity in the Eurozone expanded at its fastest pace in nearly a year. Against the Pound, the Cedi appreciated by 0.83% to open the week at a trade value of GHS 16.6435 from last week’s opening trade value of GHS 16.7835.

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 13.0731 indicating a YTD loss of 9.96% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 13.4703 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 11.9945 indicating a YTD loss of 12.30%.