Currency News for November 16th 2020

Hopes that the discovery of a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus would revive the world economy failed to give the Ghanaian currency some respite as the Cedi fell against the US Dollar and the British Pound Sterling at the start of the week on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform. On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Ghanaian Cedi weakened against its three major trading partner currencies including the Euro as rising infections in the US and Europe cast doubts about an early global economic recovery.

Last week, Moderna became the second drug-maker in the US after Pfizer to report positive results from trials of a COVID-19 vaccine, considered necessary to eradicate the pandemic. The pharmaceutical company announced that its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19, based on interim data from a late-stage trial. This development has had very little positive impact on riskier currencies as there are still several obstacles to clear before a vaccine could be distributed globally.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi depreciated by 0.02% and 0.17% against the Dollar and the Pound to begin the week trading at GHC 5.7149 and GHC 7.5408 from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.7139 and GHC 7.5280 respectively. The Dollar gained against the local currency despite concerns about a return to lockdown restrictions in some US states amid worries about a smooth transition for President-elect, Joe Biden. Against the Euro, the Cedi traded at GHC 6.7648 at the start of the week after gaining 0.21% from GHC 6.7789 posted last week.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi weakened by 0.29%, 0.58%, and 0.15% to trade at GHC 5.8506, GHC 7.7247, and GHC 6.9306 at the start of the week from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.8337, GHC 7.6804, and GHC 6.9204 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Pound maintained its resilience against a host of trading pairs despite a lack of clarity about whether the UK will exit the Eurozone’s single market with a trade deal in place as the December 31^st deadline inches closer.

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 5.7149 [November 16th, 2020] indicating a 3.21% year-to-date depreciation. 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 5.8506 [November 16th, 2020], representing a 2.71% year-to-date depreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.