Cedi will not hit GHC6 in last quarter- dep. finance minister

quist

September 10, 2015 1:00 PM

Despite the impressive recovery there are fears the cedi will go back to its losing ways due to the central bank’s approach in dealing with the cedi’s recovery. But a deputy Minister of finance Mona Quartey rejects the projections.

The Ghana Cedi has been volatile in the last past two months, experiencing a daily bout of depreciation and appreciation, in some instances very drastic.

Financial analysts have predicted more difficult times for the currency, especially in the last quarter of the year, where multinational companies repatriate profits to their parent companies outside the country, and also as importation increases to meet demand during the festive season.

However, Deputy Minister of Finance Mona Quartey has rejected assertions that the country’s currency will end the year at about 6 cedis to the dollar.

Her comments follow heightened debate on the cedi’s performance and government’s continuous difficulty in stabilizing the local currency. Some stakeholders have predicted the cedi will close the year at between 5 and 6 cedis to a dollar.

The Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Financial Services, Ken Thompson for example earlier projected that the cedi will continue to fall against major trading currencies and close at 6 cedis to a dollar by close of year. According to him the demand for dollars is still higher than supply.

The cedi this year alone has depreciated at a rate close to 30%. The central bank’s intervention of pumping between 20 and 50 million dollars daily depending on the demand to halt the free fall of the cedi initially did not yielded the needed results initially.

However the Cedi begun making some significant gains against major foreign currencies including the dollar, British pound and Euro some two weeks ago.

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

Get rewards worth up to $20 when selected to participate in our exclusive focus group. Your input will help us to make informed decisions that align with your needs and preferences.

I've got feedback!

quist