Ken Ofori Atta
THE WORLD Bank’s January 2022 Global Economic Prospects report has pointed to continued pressure on the Ghana cedi against the U.S dollar this year.
The report said pressure would be sustained on the Ghana cedi if efforts are not directed at controlling the country’s current account deficit to a sustainable level.
“Large current account deficits are likely to keep currencies under pressure in several countries, adding to inflation and external vulnerabilities (Gambia, Ghana),” the report said.
The report, therefore, encouraged the government to take extra measures to manage its current account deficit in 2023.
It further pointed out the need to institute policies that would boost exports to narrow the current account deficit, while controlling imports.
It stated that introducing these actions together with policies aimed at checking inflation in the coming months would help stabilise the economy and deal with some of the threats that would impact negatively on the local currency.
Cedi Recent Performance
The Ghana cedi was on January 10, 2023 selling at ¢12 to the US dollar in the retail or forex market, following days of sustained stability.
This was about 0.86 per cent loss in value since the beginning of the year.
The Bank of Ghana, however, quoted a dollar for ¢9.00 on the interbank forex market.
At some forex bureaus the pound was the major currency that had lost more value so far in 2023. One pound was going for GH¢14.20.
The euro had also depreciated by a little over 1 per cent, trading at ¢12.50.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri