A recent report by Joy News suggests that the Ghana cedi has weakened by 10.11% against the US dollar since January.

It attributes the depreciation to market pressures, i.e., the rising demand for dollars in transactions in the interbank market, the market where banks trade currencies with each other) in Ghana.

It closed at interbank mid-rates of GH¢11.63 to a dollar, GH¢15.62 against the pound and GH¢13.49 to the euro over two weeks. This reflected losses of 3.01%, 1.65%, and 1.56%, respectively.

Similar trends were observed in the retail market, where the currency weakened by 3.07% against the American greenback, 1.56% against the pound and 1.49% against the euro, closing at mid-rates of GH¢12.20 against the dollar, GH¢16.05 to the pound and GH¢14.10 to the euro, respectively.

“We note that the cedi’s depreciation exceeded our upper-band forecast of GH¢11.40 against the US dollar, as the central bank remained cautious about forex intermediation despite assurances from the International Monetary Fund of a likely US$385 million disbursement,” Database Research noted.

Per the report, the authorities appear to be conserving foreign exchange reserves while they wait for a more reliable flow of foreign currency into the country, especially as demand for dollars remains high.

“Looking ahead, we expect the cedi to trade largely on bearish expectations within a range of GH¢11.35 - 11.86/US dollar over the next two weeks [in the interbank market], with the path shaped by the balance between FX demand and the magnitude of supply into the market," it further stated.

Meanwhile, the cedi began this week going for GH¢12.20 to the American greenback in the retail market. Its year-to-date loss now stands at 0.20%.

Cedi's value earlier this year

The cedi recorded a 4% depreciation against major trading currencies, according to the Bank of Ghana’s January 2026 Summary of Economic and Financial Data.

The local currency traded at GH¢10.88 to the US dollar on the interbank market, compared with GH¢10.45 at the end of December 2025. It also traded at GH¢14.77 to the pound and GH¢12.80 to the euro, representing losses of 4.9% and 4.1%, respectively.

Despite the early-year depreciation, data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), analysed across more than 20 major African economies, showed that the cedi emerged as the continent’s best-performing currency in 2025.

According to the report, the cedi strengthened by more than 40% against the US dollar in 2025, making it the top-performing currency among over 20 African currencies reviewed.

Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves also increased significantly during the period. The Bank of Ghana reported that reserves rose by 33.63%, or $3.02 billion, between December 2024 and October 2025, reaching approximately $12 billion by October 2025.

Speaking at the launch of the 60th anniversary of the Ghana cedi in Accra on October 28, 2025, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, attributed the improvement to coordinated fiscal and monetary policy measures implemented by the government.

He said the country had achieved a decisive economic turnaround, reflected in stronger foreign exchange reserves, improved investor confidence and increased resilience of the local currency against external shocks.

“Under the leadership of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama and Her Excellency the Vice President, and through coordinated, difficult but necessary policy actions, Ghana had turned a decisive corner, and the evidence was compelling. Our gross international reserves were around $12 billion,” he said.

Measures to strengthen the cedi

As part of a revamped reserve-building drive, large-scale gold miners ‌have been instructed by the government to sell 30% of their gold output to the central bank from the earlier 20%, this is according to a Reuters report.

According to the report, the directive is yet to be accepted by miners, as key commercial terms remain unresolved. Last year, miners operating under valid mining license were offered a special temporary bonus scheme from the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) in efforts to support the industry as well as combating gold smuggling.

The licensed miners will enjoy an additional GH¢832 per pound of gold sold through the Ghana Gold Board. This information was contained in a statement issued by the GoldBod on Wednesday, August 27.

“This novelty is in response to legitimate complaints from licensed miners about the significant reduction in the local price of gold in the last few months due to the continuous appreciation of the Ghana cedi.

“The special bonus will ensure that licensed miners who have contributed immensely to the country’s increased gold output and foreign exchange earnings do not indirectly suffer as a result of the significant appreciation of the Ghana cedi that they have helped the country achieve,” the statement read.

According to GoldBod, the recent development has been made possible as a result of the continuous appreciation of the Ghana cedi.