Ghana cedi appreciates 1.77 percent against the dollar at end of the first quarter of 2020 amid COVID-19

According to Accra based Class FM report, the performance was attributed largely to the Bank of Ghana’s Forward Forex Auction and the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in low imports within quarter one of this year.

However, the local currency came under pressure in the last three weeks to the end of quarter one, following some liquidation of portfolio investments by some foreign investors amid growing uncertainty about the coronavirus pandemic.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said on Monday, 30 March 2020 that there had been some disinvestments of local bonds by about 25% of foreign investors.

As of Wednesday, 18 March 2020, the local currency had appreciated by 3.47% to the US dollar, 13.38% to the British pound and 5.81% to the euro.

But has since lost 1.70% in value to the American ‘green buck’.

At the forex bureau, the cedi is going for about GHS5.75 to one US dollar but GHS5.49 to one US dollar at the interbank market.

In February 2020, the cedi recorded an appreciation of about 5.75% to the US dollar on the interbank market.

Outlook

The ongoing 14-day partial lockdown which began on 30 March 2020 has triggered a reduction in trading activity in the currency market.

As a result of the reduced trading, the cedi has been broadly stable in the past two trading days. This inactivity could, therefore, help the local currency during the 14-day lockdown.

Some analysts say overall, the Ghana cedi is still vulnerable to downside risks emanating from sustained selloffs across Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs), increased liquidity to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on-demand and general economic activity. Others are lower prices for soft commodities and crude oil, which weighs on export receipts and slowdown in aggregate demand in the export markets.