The Ghana cedi depreciated by 7.11 percent against the US dollar on the interbank market in the first eight months of 2026, reversing the strong appreciation recorded over the same period last year, the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) September 2026 Monetary Policy Report has revealed.
The local currency also weakened by 7.78 per cent against the British pound and 6.09 per cent against the euro on a year-to-date basis in August 2026.
These movements contrast sharply with the appreciations of 28.95 percent, 19.49 per cent and 14.08 percent recorded against the dollar, pound and euro, respectively, during the corresponding period in 2025.
Despite the depreciation, the report indicated that the cedi was less volatile during the first 185 transaction days of 2026 than it had been over the preceding four years.
The report attributed the subdued pressure on the local foreign exchange market in August to moderated demand and support from the central bank.
“On the international market, the US dollar strengthened in September due to the Fed’s recent policy rate hikes and, as a result, EMDE currencies came under pressure,” the report stated.
It added that seasonal demand for foreign exchange from the energy and commerce sectors could weigh on the cedi in the coming months.
The currency’s weakness was also reflected in broader exchange rate indicators. On a year-to-date basis, it depreciated by 6.80 percent in nominal trade-weighted terms and 7.58 percent in nominal foreign exchange transaction-weighted terms as of August 2026.This compares with appreciations of 14.22 percent and 21.60 percent, respectively, over the same period in 2025.
In real bilateral terms, the cedi lost 8.47 per cent against the dollar, 8.15 percent against the pound and 6.97 percent against the euro.
The declines reversed the real bilateral gains of 20.51 percent, 15.91 percent and 16.94 percent recorded against the respective currencies during the corresponding period last year.
Similarly, the cedi depreciated by 7.27 percent in real trade-weighted terms and 8.35 per cent in real foreign exchange transaction-weighted terms.
These compared with appreciations of 17.34 percent and 20.15 percent, respectively, in the same period of 2025, underscoring the reversal in the currency’s performance this year.
Source: businesspostonline
