Currency News [August 18, 2025]

The local currency remained pressured as it began the week nursing losses 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). This week’s performance follows a similar trend last week, where the Cedi was seen pressured across the board against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro. The Cedi’s recent performance, inadvertently, signals the presence of renewed demand pressures on the local unit amid limited forex supply.

The Cedi’s performance comes at a time when there seems to be an apparent easing of geopolitical tensions as investments in gold, one of Ghana’s primary earners, dwindle. A recent publication of Ghana’s gold holdings revealed that the nation’s gold reserve recorded its biggest increase in the past eight months to top 34.4 tonnes in July from 30.53 tonnes at the close of 2024. Analysts, however, fear that the local currency’s outlook faces a gloomy picture if capital flows move from gold to the US Dollar. The upcoming interest payment on the DDEP bonds is also expected to intensify the ongoing pressures on the local unit, as offshore investors are anticipated to repatriate their proceeds following the persistent drop in rates of some key fixed-income assets.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi traded down by 1.89%, 2.68%, and 2.46% to begin the week at trade values of GHS 10.8054, GHS 14.6067, and GHS 12.6094 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 10.6053, GHS 14.2259, and GHS 12.3062 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. The Dollar received a boost, gaining ground against some of its trading pairs following the release of hotter-than-expected US producer price index and robust retail sales figures, which somewhat cooled off speculation of a half a percentage point Fed rate cut in September to a quarter of a percentage point cut.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi plummeted by 2.54%, 3.26%, and 2.96% to open the week trading at GHS 10.8309, GHS 14.6595, and GHS 12.6525 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 10.5621, GHS 14.1972, and GHS 12.2885 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. The Pound rose against a basket of trading pairs, boosted by a faster-than-expected 0.3% economic growth in Britain in the second quarter of 2025, beating the Bank of England’s earlier forecast of 0.1% gross domestic product growth rate.

The Cedi was quoted at GHC 14.7074 on the first trading day of the year against the Dollar and is currently being sold at GHS 10.8054, indicating a Year-to-Date (YTD) gain of 26.53% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 10.8309 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 14.7134, indicating a YTD gain of 26.39%.