
Ghana: Central Bank calls emergency meeting, hikes policy rate by 300 basis pointsĪt an extraordinary meeting on 17 August, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) hiked its policy rate by 300 basis points to 22.00%-the largest hike in 22 years.On top of that, elevated uncertainty over fiscal discipline ahead of the presidential elections at the end of the year remains a notable risk to the outlook.įocusEconomics panelists see the cedi ending 2020 at 6.19 per USD and 2021 at 6.45 per USD Looking ahead, the cedi is expected to weaken further before year-end, as the coronavirus-related downturn weighs on economic activity both at home and in the external arena. The Central Bank’s recent emergency rate cut seemingly added further downside pressure on the cedi. This dented demand for Ghanaian sovereign bonds which, coupled with Ghana’s rapidly deteriorating growth outlook owing to its dependence on commodity exports, weighed on the cedi over the past few weeks.

Rising fears that the Covid-19 pandemic could push the global economy towards recession set global commodity prices tumbling and saw investors fleeing emerging market assets. Meanwhile, the currency was up1.0% year-to-date although it was down 7.2% year-on-year. On 20 March, the currency traded at 5.65 per USD, marking a 5.8% depreciation over the same day in February. dollar through end of March as the global fallout from the coronavirus pandemic intensified. The Ghanaian cedi lost most of its early-year gains against the U.S. Other banknotes and coins feature additional Ghanaian symbols, such as the emblems on the reverse side of every coin, a cocoa bean, of which the country is the world's leading producer, on the 20 Pesewas coin, or else a diamond on the 1000 Cedi bill.Ghana - Exchange Rate Cedi slumps in March as coronavirus fears mount At the beginning of the 20th century, this petite lady took the reins of the rebellion against the British colonists in place of men who were afraid. There is only one exception: That of Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of the Ashanti Empire, whose portrait appears on the 20 Cedi bill. On the 10,000 Cedi bill, there is also a group of 6 political leaders, including Kwame Nkrumah, an independent politician, who was jailed by the British until 1951, after which he held the position of Prime Minister from 1957 to 1960, and President from 1960 to 1966. Kwasi Nukpor, who are key players in Ghana's political scene today. The upper face of the10 Cedi bill displays: Wordsworth Odame Larbi, Fred Otoo, and E. Ghana's political figureheads are gathered on 2 banknotes. The Cedi is divided into 100 pesewa, which is the name of a plant seed that originally served as a unit weight for gold. Long ago, the exchange currency in Ghana consisted only of shells – the cypraea (cowry shell), which gave its name to the currency used today in Ghana.

