The pressure on the Cedi continued as the local currency lost 3.95 percent against the US dollar in October 2024, taking its year-to-date depreciation to nearly 29 percent.
It is coming after the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ermest Addison’s statement that the Cedi will soon post gains against the dollar.
Last week, the local unit also lost 1.50 percent in value against the British pound, and 0.69 percent against the euro. Despite the Bank of Ghana’s effort to stabilize the currency by auctioning 20 million dollars to the Bulk Oil Distributors (BDCs) and selling 81.47 million dollars during the 7-day forward auction, these interventions did little to address the heightened demand. The cedi began the week on November 4, 2024, selling at 17 cedis 10 peswas to one dollar on the retail market.
Last week, the Bank of Ghana signaled it would resume daily intervention on the spot market in a bid to address the outstanding corporate foreign exchange demand.
Analysts expect the cedi to benefit from this initiative, which will provide some stability in the coming weeks. However, this week the cedi is expected to continue depreciating due to persistent demand pressures coupled with potential US dollar strengthening following the U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
In 2024, the local currency depreciated by about 15.57 percent.