Weekly Currency News Report – Week 01 [January 5, 2025]

The Cedi began the week and the new year on a positive note, building on its recent gains as improved forex supply helped calm the market. The upsurge in demand for forex is said to be easing after a sharp rise before and during the festive season.

In 2025, the Cedi embarked on an impressive run, appreciating against its three major trading partner currencies, the best such performance in recent memory. The Cedi ended the year with year-to-date (YTD) appreciation of 28.911%, 22.81%, and 18.97% against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively. The sustained appreciation was supported by improvements in key macroeconomic variables, higher receipts from Ghana’s gold and cocoa exports, the ongoing Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), policies to tighten the domestic currency market, and upgrades to Ghana’s credit ratings, among others.

The Cedi’s performance in the early part of the new year has been supported by an upsurge in remittance inflows from Ghanaians living abroad, as well as the receipt of funds from the IMF, following the receipt of USD 380 million, the fifth such receipt under Ghana’s ECF program with the Fund. It is expected that the Cedi’s strong path will continue in the first quarter of the year, barring any unforeseen domestic and international shocks.

Bank of Ghana Inter-Bank Rates

	Current	Previous	w-o-w Change	w-o-w % Change	YTD
USD	10.6053	10.6553	-0.05	0.47	-0.95%
GBP	14.3299	14.3847	-0.05	0.38	-1.11%
EUR	12.4176	12.5510	-0.13	1.06	-0.65%

On the Bank of Ghana (BoG) inter-bank trading platform, the Cedi gained across the board against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, building on last week’s gains. This notwithstanding, the Cedi opened the week with a YTD depreciation of 0.95%, 1.11%, and 0.65% against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro, respectively.

Open Forex Market Rates (oanda.com)

	Current	Previous	w-o-w Change	w-o-w % Change	YTD
USD	10.5338	11.1052	-0.57	5.15	-0.08%
GBP	14.1940	14.9902	-0.80	5.31	-0.08%
EUR	12.3227	13.0715	-0.75	5.73	0.34%

On the Open Forex Market (oanda.com), the Cedi added to last week’s gains against the Dollar, the Pound, and the Euro. Despite the week-on-week gains, the Cedi tumbled in its year-to-date performance as it depreciated by 0.08% and 0.08% against the Dollar and the Pound. It, however, recorded a YTD appreciation of 0.34% against the Euro.