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RADP / Pulse Ghana  >  news  >  business

BoG downplays cedi devaluation report

Abu Mubarik

Wampah at a Monetary Policy meeting yesterday said the comments by the Vice president was " a general comment" and has no direct reference to the Ghanaian economy.

 
 

The Central Bank Governor, Dr. Henry Kofi Wampah has downplayed reports Ghana is considering devaluing the Cedi.

Vice President Paa kwasi Amissah Arthur at the 35th Meeting of the Convergence Council of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) called for the devaluation of the cedi and other currencies in the ECOWAS zone so as to establish a common condition necessary for adopting a single currency by 2020.

Read more: BOG maintains Monetary Policy Rate at 26%

However, Wampah at a Monetary Policy meeting yesterday said the comments by the Vice president was "a general comment" and has no direct reference to the Ghanaian economy.

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He said: “I think it was a general comment some people felt he was referring directly to the Ghanaian economy, some of the currencies are fixed- like the CFA Franc, it is fixed to the Euro so they have no control. The Nigerian Naira has also been fixed for a while so there is a big gap between the central bank’s rate and that of the market of the Forex bureau market."

He further maintained the cedi's rate changes according to market conditions, be it speculative or not. He added that the changes include cedi liquidity, fiscal and monetary policies.

Related: Vice Prez calls for cedi devaluation

“Our rates generally have been floating because the rates changes according to the market condition even be it speculative or not, the rate continues to change so for us there is no need to take a discretionary action on devaluation because the currency adjusts as and when the conditions change.  In our situation, the movement is done according to market conditions which include cedi liquidity, fiscal and monetary policies,” Wampah said.

After the Monetary Policy meeting, the country's Monetary Policy Rate was set at 26%.

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On the Banks Composite index, the Monetary Policy Committee observed slower growth in the composite index as compared to the same period in  2014. The committee is of the anticipation that the medium term looks bright.

Analysts anticipated a increase in the monetary policy rate given the worsening forex exchange situation of the country.

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Abu Mubarik Abu Mubarik Abu Mubarik is a writer at Pulse Ghana with special interests in Ghana politics, international relations and geopolitics.

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