Ghanaian Cedis Depreciates Against US Dollar At 8.86%

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 rand4.56%1st
Namibian dollar4.49%2nd
Botswana pula1.76%3rd
Uganda shilling0.84%4th
Egypt Pound0.02%5th
Cote d’Ivoire CFA0.00%5th
Malawi kwacha0.00%5th
Tunisia dinar0.07%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%

Patsy Nwogu

Reporting on data-driven featured stories and investigations.

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