Currency News for May 31st 2021

The Ghana Cedi began the week nursing losses against its three major trading partner currencies on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform. The Cedi’s performance this week follows a similar performance last week as the local currency gradually erases gains accumulated in the first five months of the year. On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi rose to recover part of previous week’s losses against the US Dollar and the Euro but failed to post gains against the British Pound Sterling.

The Cedi has come under pressure in the second quarter of the year after a strong run against the Dollar and the Euro in the first quarter as ballooning public debt levels cause uneasiness among investors who fear the unsustainable debt level may adversely affect their investments. Recent data released by the BoG showed that the public debt rose to GHC 304.6 billion as of end-March, 2021, up from GHC 236.7 billion over the same period last year.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi tumbled by 0.26%, 0.70%, and 0.40% to begin the week trading at GHC 5.7502, GHC 8.1716, and GHC 7.0305 from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.7354, GHC 8.1144, and GHC 7.0024 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro respectively. The Euro built on its previous week’s gain against the Cedi buoyed by significant progress in COVID vaccination rollout in the bloc as cases declines in recent weeks.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi appreciated by 0.1% and 0.06% to trade at GHC 5.7972 and GHC 7.0776 from previous week’s trade values of GHC 5.8030 and GHC 7.0820 against the Dollar and the Euro respectively. The Dollar lost against a host of its trading pairs following a gradual pick-up in investor risk appetite as most economies lift lockdown restrictions, thus opening up their economies. Against the Pound, the Cedi further plunged by 0.21% to open the week trading at GHC 8.2286 from previous week’s trade value of GHC 8.2112.

According to the Bank of Ghana inter-bank rates, the Ghanaian Cedi began the year 2021 at GHC 5.7631 [January 4th, 2021] against the US Dollar and is currently selling at GHC 5.7502 [May 31st, 2021] indicating a 0.22% year-to-date appreciation. Similarly, on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Ghanaian Cedi traded at GHC 5.8885 [January 4th, 2021] and is currently trading at GHC 5.8030 [May 31st, 2021], representing a 1.55% year-to-date appreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.