A Bloomberg report has pegged Ghanaian cedis the worst-performing currency among Africa’s top currencies following its second depreciation in 2022.
Ghanaian Cedis dropped by 8.86% to the dollar between January 1, 2022, and February 25, 2022, presently trading at ¢6.60 to one US dollar on the forex market.
Analysts have blamed the low performance of the currency on fiscal slippages, rising debts and inadequate revenue, leading to selling pressures by investors in Ghana’s international bonds and reduced access to the international capital markets.
Ghana’s downward credit rating has unfortunately complicated its capacity to borrow from the international bond market, whilst paying higher interest or premium on existing bonds to investors.
These conditions if persistent are expected to depreciate the cedi further till the end of the first half of 2022, according to research by Databank.
Fortunately, Ghana’s economy and the value of the cedi is expected to do better with the inflow of up to $4.5 billion from the World Bank through its five-year Country Partnership Framework.
Here is a list of other countries below the top-performing category, and excluded from the top 15: Zambian Kwacha, The Gambian Dalasi, New Sudanese Pound and Ethiopian Birr.
15 TOP PERFORMING CURRENCIES IN AFRICA
| South African rand | 4.56% | 1st |
| Namibian dollar | 4.49% | 2nd |
| Botswana pula | 1.76% | 3rd |
| Uganda shilling | 0.84% | 4th |
| Egypt Pound | 0.02% | 5th |
| Cote d’Ivoire CFA | 0.00% | 5th |
| Malawi kwacha | 0.00% | 5th |
| Tunisia dinar | 0.07% | 8th |
| Tanzania shilling | -0.01% | 9th |
| Kenya shilling | -0.43% | 10th |
| Mauritius rupee | -0.43% | 10th |
| Nigerian naira | -0.82% | 12th |
| Morocco dirham | -1.18% | 13th |
| Ghana cedi | -4.70% | 14th |
| Zambian kwacha | -11.29% | 15% |