The Ghana cedi is expected to stabilize against it major peers in the coming weeks on the back of inflows from the Cocoa Syndicated loan, Databank Research has said.
“In the coming weeks, we expect the cedi to find a cushion on the back of expected forex inflows from the $1.3 billion cocoa syndicated loan,” it said in its Weekly Currency Report issued on Monday.
Databank Research, however, said the European Central Bank hike of deposit rate by 75 per cent basis points and an impending US Fed policy rate hike “represent depreciatory pressure points” for the local currency.
It said the cedi slid against the dollar last week after a short-lived rally the previous week.
Databank Research said despite the improved forex reserves, sustained demand for the dollar weighed on the cedi, subduing its rally in the first week of September this year.
Last week, the BoG allotted $25 million across the 7-day to 75-day tenors against total bids of US$107.75 million,” Databank Research, said.
“The resulting bid-to-cover ratio of 4.31x (versus 4.38x in the previous auction) shows a marginal relaxation of demand pressures, although the wide demand supply disparity persists,” Databank Research, said.
The local currency shed 0.28 per cent week on week against the greenback on the BoG reference rate market, lost 0.41 per cent week on week in relation to the euro, and slid 0.55 week-on-week relative to the pound sterling.
On the forex bureau, Databank Research said the cedi lost 1.74 per cent week-on-week against the greenback, with a bid or offer quote of 9.93/10.20, deepening its year-to-date loss to 35.52 per cent against the dollar.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
