The Ghanaian Cedi has been ranked as the fourth worst-performing currency among the top 150 currencies tracked globally by Bloomberg.
This ranking follows the weakened performances of the Egyptian Pound, Nigerian Naira, and Lebanese Pound.
Recent Bloomberg data shows that the Ghanaian currency depreciated by 0.2% to 14.9335 per dollar by the end of trading in Accra on Monday, 10 June 2024. Since the start of the year, the Cedi has lost 20% of its value against the US Dollar.
The recent poor performance of the Cedi is mainly due to increased demand for US dollars to buy petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, and other imported goods.
Samantha Singh-Jami, an Africa strategist at Rand Merchant Bank, noted that despite efforts to boost foreign exchange reserves, liquidity issues in the market remain. Samir Gadio, head of Africa strategy at Standard Chartered Bank, added that the Cedi’s depreciation is due to a mismatch in foreign exchange flows, with demand consistently outstripping supply.
“The Cedi’s depreciation reflects a mismatch in foreign exchange flows. Despite a recovery in foreign exchange demand this year, it continues to outpace supply,” Gadio is quoted by Bloomberg.
Ghana’s finance minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, assured that the local currency will stabilize against the US dollar in the medium term.
