Ghana’s local currency continues to experience persistent depreciation against major trading currencies such as the US dollar.
The cedi, which has been under pressure throughout the year, recorded some relative stability in July, while inflationary pressures continued to decline.
However, Bloomberg reports that the cedi has now weakened by 0.1% to trade at GH¢15.67 per dollar, a situation that will further worsen the woes of the Ghanaian economy amidst the pricing behavior of businesses.
The portal also mentioned that Ghana’s dollar bonds maturing in 2032 rose by 0.2 cent to 52.36 cents on the dollar at 11:38 a.m. on September 11, 2024, in London.
Meanwhile, the recent slowdown in Ghana’s inflation from 20.9% to 20.4% in July 2024 could persuade the Bank of Ghana’s Monetary Policy Committee to cut interest rates at its next meeting.
With the current policy rate pegged at 29%, businesses and investors continue to remain cautiously optimistic about economic growth prospects and election-related risks.
Additionally, the Bank of Ghana is targeting an inflation decline of between 13% and 17% by the end of 2024.
The cedi has traded almost 1% lower against the dollar in the past month, after declining in value by almost 24% this year, according to Bloomberg.
With additional files from Bloomberg