Weekly Currency News Report – Week 18 [May 4 2026]

The Cedi extended its weekly losing streak across the board against its three major trading partner currencies for the fifth consecutive week, as pressures continue to mount on emerging market and riskier currencies. The Cedi, alongside some currencies, has faced headwinds in recent times as investors take solace in the US Dollar and other safe-haven currencies and assets amid the ongoing Middle East crisis. The US and Israel’s war against Iran has escalated international crude oil prices and disrupted some supply chains, with fears of global inflation likely to spike.

The Cedi was thus heavily weighed down by the ongoing geopolitical crisis, failing to gather momentum despite Ghana officially beginning its sixth and final review of its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The three-year ECF programme has, over the past few years, helped stabilize the economy, restore policy credibility, and renew hope for the Ghanaian people after the economy underwent turbulence in the period to 2023. A successful review of Ghana’s performance under the programme and a subsequent approval of the review by the IMF Executive Board will lead to the disbursement of funds, which are expected to further boost the domestic economy’s already strong international reserves. An improved reserve position is likely to help the Cedi remain resilient in a time of economic shocks.

On the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi declined by 1.04%, 0.89%, and 0.75%, having been offered for GHS 11.2313, GHS 15.1825, and GHS 13.1280 at the start of the week from the previous week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 11.1156, GHS 15.0482, and GHS 13.0299 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. The Dollar drew renewed support from a repricing of Federal Reserve expectations, following last week’s hawkish Fed meeting and still-elevated energy prices, with the market shifted to pricing additional Fed tightening this year.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi depreciated by 0.85%, 0.95%, and 0.67% to trade at GHS 11.2132, GHS 15.2022, and GHS 13.1309 at the start of the week from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 11.1187, GHS 15.0587, and GHS 13.0437 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. The Pound posted modest gains against a basket of currencies after the Bank of England (BoE) kept the UK’s interest rate unchanged, with the governor of the BoE stressing that the decision to hold was an “active” one, whilst leaving the door open to further tightening should energy-driven inflation persist.

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 11.2313, indicating a Year-to-Date (YTD) depreciation of 6.91% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also currently quoted at GHS 11.2132 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), having opened the year at GHS 10.5253, indicating a YTD loss of 6.54%.