Currency News for March 30th 2020

The Ghanaian Cedi fell across the board against its three major trading partner currencies for the first time in 2020 on both the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform and on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) as fears about the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic weighed on risk sentiments. Although the Cedi maintained a resilient performance in the first two months of the year on strong investor sentiments, the local currency came under pressure in March as demand for safe-haven assets and currencies surged following the widespread infection rate of the novel coronavirus.

According to Ghana’s finance ministry, the Cedi has come under pressure, erasing some of its recent gains as some offshore investors’ liquidated their portfolio investments in local assets. The ongoing partial lockdown is however expected to reduce trading activities on the currency market, giving the Cedi some respite.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi depreciated by 1.23%, 7.85%, and 3.29% to trade at GHC 5.4401, GHC 6.7327, and GHC 5.9926 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.3740, GHC 6.2424, and GHC 5.8015 against the US Dollar, the British Pound Sterling, and the Euro respectively. The Dollar surged against a host of its trading pairs including the Cedi as investors continue to scramble for the greenback – the world’s most liquid currency.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi dipped by 1.06%, 8.07%, and 4.13% to open the week trading at GHC 5.7557, GHC 7.1349, and GHC 6.3653 from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.6952, GHC 6.6021, and GHC 6.1126 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Pound posted its biggest weekly gain against the local currency this year as the British government announced a massive stimulus package to limit the economic fallout from the outbreak.

According to the Bank of Ghana inter-bank rates, the Ghanaian Cedi began the year 2020 at GHC 5.5370 [January 2nd, 2020] against the US Dollar and is currently selling at GHC 5.4401 [March 30th, 2020] indicating a 1.75% year-to-date appreciation. Similarly, on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Ghanaian Cedi traded at GHC 5.6961 [January 2nd, 2020] and is currently trading at GHC 5.7557 [March 30th, 2020], representing a 1.05% year-to-date depreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.