Weekly Currency News Report – Week 08 [February 23, 2025]

The Cedi defied the odds, as it posted its first weekly gain over the past seven weeks 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). The local unit was expected to face renewed pressures from late last week following the release of funds for coupon payments on the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bonds at a time when there is already strong demand for forex amid limited supply. The Cedi, however, showed resilience as it opened the week with strong movements to trim portions of previous weeks’ losses.

The Cedi’s performance comes after the government last week announced that it had paid GHS 10 billion in interest obligations under the DDEP, the sixth coupon settlement under the programme, and the second outright cash payment. This, the government believes, reflects fiscal capacity and solvency. This move defied growing concerns that the interest payment could lead to the repatriation of proceeds, further burdening the already strained Cedi. Investors, however, agreed with the government’s statement that “the timely payment sends a strong positive signal to domestic and international investors, reinforces market confidence, and is expected to support Ghana’s credit outlook while enhancing stability within the financial sector, including banks and pension funds”. Consequently, the local currency benefited from the act.

On the BoG inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi traded up by 0.90%, 1.85%, and 1.38%, having been offered for GHS 10.9055, GHS 14.7213, and GHS 12.8637 at the start of the week from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 11.0045, GHS 14.9991, and GHS 13.0439 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. The Pound fell against the Cedi and a host of other trading pairs, after a sharp drop in UK inflation pointed to the potential of a rate cut by the Bank of England next month.

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi soared by 0.46%, 1.42%, and 0.91% to open the week, having been sold for GHS 10.9613, GHS 14.8069, and GHS 12.9407 from last week’s opening trade quotes of GHS 11.0120, GHS 15.0197, and GHS 13.0599 against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. The Dollar fell against some of its trading pairs, as traders assessed the fallout from the US Supreme Court’s ruling striking down President Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

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 10.9055, indicating a Year-to-Date (YTD) depreciation of 3.81% on the BoG inter-bank trading platform. It is also currently quoted at GHS 10.9613 on the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), having opened the year at GHS 10.5253, indicating a YTD loss of 4.14%.