Weekly Currency News Report – Week 12 [March 24, 2025]

The Ghanaian Cedi opened the week nursing losses across the board 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), largely battered together with other emerging market and riskier currencies by the ongoing Middle East crisis. The US-Israel-led assault on Iran is contributing to rising geopolitical tensions amid concerns of a pickup in global inflation numbers as investors flee to take positions in safe assets and currencies, with the US Dollar and other Dollar-denominated assets seen benefiting from the development.

The Cedi’s performance this week comes after the BoG’s monetary policy committee stayed glued to its policy easing cycle, slashing the policy rate by 150 basis points to 14.0% despite concerns over a possible spillover of the Middle East crisis into the domestic market. The governor of the central bank, however, in attempting to explain the basis for the decision, noted that “while we remain mindful of external risks, including those from distant conflict zones, the recent policy decision reflects a careful balance, one that safeguards domestic stability while supporting economic activity.” The governor’s response was supported by continuing improvement in Ghana’s external sector, with the Gross International Reserves reaching USD 14.5 billion (equivalent to 5.8 months of import cover) as at end-February, up from USD 13.8 billion as at end-December 2025 amid a reported strong economic growth rate of 6.0% in 2025.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi traded down by 0.74%, 1.41%, and 1.62%, having begun the week trading at GHS 10.9555, GHS 14.6738, and GHS 12.6991 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 10.8754, GHS 14.4698, and GHS 12.4966 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. The Dollar remained on a strong footing against most of its trading pairs as a US Feb policy stay added to the greenback’s roller coaster ride, as the conflict and rising oil prices drove investors into safe-haven US assets.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi depreciated by 0.26%, 0.90%, and 1.13% to open the week at trade values of GHS 10.9258, GHS 14.6069, and GHS 12.6444 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 10.8978, GHS 14.4761, and GHS 12.5035 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. The Pound picked up against a host of currencies after the Bank of England voted unanimously 9-0 to hold borrowing costs, wrong-footing the market that had expected at least two members to favour a cut.

The Cedi was quoted at GHC 10.5053 on the first trading day of the year against the Dollar and is currently trading at GHS 10.9555, indicating a Year-to-Date (YTD) depreciation of 4.29% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also currently quoted at GHS 10.9258 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), having opened the year at GHS 10.5253, indicating a YTD loss of 3.81%.