Currency News [June 17, 2024]

The Cedi resumed its free fall against its three major international trading partner currencies this week as it fell across the board on both the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform and the Open Forex Market (oanda.com). The Cedi failed to leverage on some weaknesses witnessed in some of its international trading partner currencies following a softer-than-expected US inflation release and political turmoil in the Eurozone as the existing pressures on the local currency amid a tight supply of forex intensified.

The Cedi’s performance continues to worsen despite news that Ghanaian authorities have successfully reached a Memorandum of Understanding with its Official Creditor Committee regarding the treatment of the public debt stock held by bilateral organizations and some offshore investors. This development marks a significant stride towards re-establishing the sovereign’s long-term debt sustainability. It is also expected to expedite the release of the next tranche of USD 360.0 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the IMF already setting June-ending as the likely timeline to conclude Ghana’s second review of the sovereign’s programme with the Fund.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi fell by 0.87%, 0.60%, and 0.73% to begin the week at trade values of GHS 14.3301, GHS 18.1963, and GHS 15.3906 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 14.2067, GHS 18.0880, and GHS 15.2796 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Pound added to its gains against the Cedi after stronger-than-expected UK inflation last month prompted investors to push back their bets on the start date for the Bank of England rate cuts late into the year.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi plunged by 0.46%, 0.18%, and 0.07% to trade at GHS 15.0423, GHS 19.0825, and GHS 16.1198 at the week’s opening from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 14.9741, GHS 19.0490, and GHS 16.1090 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Dollar rebounded against most of its trading pairs after Fed officials unexpectedly adopted a more hawkish tone at last week’s meeting where they projected only one rate cut for 2024.

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 14.3301 indicating a YTD loss of 20.53% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also being quoted at GHS 15.0423 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 11.9945 indicating a YTD loss of 25.41%.