Cedi’s trouble continues; going for GH¢14.50 to a dollar  

The Ghana cedi's trouble continues as its depreciation against the US dollar and the other major foreign currencies is not ending anytime soon.

Its year-to-date depreciation stood at15.16% to one American greenback, making it one of the worst-performing currencies in Africa in 2024.

Most forex bureaus, according to Joy Business checks, are selling one US dollar for GH¢14.40 on average.

Analysts are envisaging a continuous weakening trajectory of the local unit this week in the near term as foreign exchange demand-supply disparity remains substantial.

They, however, anticipate improved liquidity conditions towards the end of quarter two of 2024 after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board approves the second review of Ghana’s programme.

This will lead to a tranche disbursement of US$360 million under the IMF programme.

Last week, the local unit headed downhill as corporate demand, mainly from the energy and manufacturing sectors, remained heightened.

Despite the Bank of Ghana selling US$22 million on the spot market while auctioning US$20 million to the Bulk Oil Distribution Companies (BDCs), the local unit recorded losses at the close of the week as demand surpassed foreign exchange (FX) liquidity.

On the retail market, the Ghana cedi concluded the week with a significant week-on-week loss of 2.97% against the American greenback against 0.90% from the previous week.

This resulted in a year-to-date loss of 14.11% at the end of April 2024.

The local unit also shed 3.83% and 3.32% week-on-week vs the pound and euro, resulting in year-to-date losses of 17.63% and 12.11%, respectively