Pressure on Cedi normally depreciates in January, February - Prof Tuckson
Cedi now sells at GH¢ 7 at forex bureaux
Founder of Danquah Institute, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has asked Ghanaians to brace themselves up for further depreciation of the local currency, Cedi.
In a tweet sighted by GhanaWeb, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko attributed the free fall of the Cedi to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The local currency currently sells at GH¢7 against the US Dollar at some interbank forex market.
He said, "Prepare for more pressure on the cedi and other African currencies as the dollar gains more from the conflict in Ukraine."
However, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Ghana, Professor Ebo Tuckson, has entreated Ghanaians not to overly react to the free fall of the local currency, Cedi.
According to him, during the first two months of the year - January, February, the cedi normally depreciates, hence, there's no need for Ghanaians to panic over the cedi depreciate.
Speaking on the Joy Super Morning Show, on Tuesday, February 22, Prof Tuckson sad, “obviously coming from the fact that most FDIs with those generous investment packages normally repatriate their profits after a year...It’s something that we don’t need to panic. It normally happens around this time and it’s something that we should expect.”
“Our importers that do a lot of trading in Asia normally close their balances at this time of the year, hence, there’s normally unusual pressure on the cedi during the first two months,” he stated.
Oil prices go up - Reuters report
Oil prices jumped on Thursday, with Brent rising above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014, after Russia attacked Ukraine exacerbating concerns about disruptions to global energy supply.
Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two.
Brent crude rose $7.07, or 7.3%, to $103.91 a barrel at 0944 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude jumped $6.43, or 7%, to $98.53 a barrel.
Read Gabby's tweet below.
Founder of Danquah Institute, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko