Currency News [May 5, 2025]

The Ghanaian Cedi maintained its strong footing against its three major trading partner currencies as it began the month, building on the previous week’s gains to upturn its recent streak of losses against the US Dollar on both the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform and the Open Forex Market (oanda.com). The Cedi’s recent stability and its eventual recovery stem from a mixed bag of both local and international developments.

On the domestic front, the freshly announced staff-level agreement between the IMF and Ghanaian authorities amid a strong gold reserves build-up topping 31.37 tonnes as of April 2025, up from 8.78 tonnes in mid-2023, is helping to boost confidence in the Ghanaian economy. A strong build-up of Ghana’s Gross International Reserves, allowing the central bank to increase its participation in the local currency market, has also helped to sustain demand pressures. On the international front, uncertainties surrounding the US’ trade policies and tariffs and their cascading impact on the world economy have dimmed the Dollar’s luster, reducing its appeal with investors seeking to explore other options.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi surged by 5.08%, 6.00%, and 5.85% to trade at GHS 13.6568, GHS 18.1335, and GHS 15.4420 at the start of the week from the previous week’s opening trade values of GHS 14.3872, GHS 19.2918, and GHS 16.4018 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. The greenback continues to be subdued against other currencies as traders fret over the economic fallout of Trump’s policy, with this trend further exacerbated by a steady unwinding in Dollar long positions amid waning confidence in the US economy.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi soared by 3.49%, 3.97%, and 3.91%, currently exchanging for GHS 14.1791, GHS 18.8518, and GHS 16.0632 at the start of the week from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 14.6923, GHS 19.6313, and GHS 16.7165 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. Although the Pound had been on a rising trend against the weakening Dollar, it fell against the Cedi and other trading partner currencies, hurt by an anticipated 25 basis points rate cut by the Bank of England this month.

The Cedi was quoted at GHC 14.7074 on the first trading day of the year against the Dollar and is currently being sold at GHS 13.6568, indicating a Year-to-Date (YTD) appreciation of 7.14% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also presently being quoted at GHS 14.1791 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com) after opening the year at GHS 14.7134, indicating a YTD gain of 3.63%.