Cedi depreciation a normal phenomenon, don’t panic – Economist urges Ghanaians

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Ghanaians have been advised not to panic over the persistent depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major trading currencies.

According to Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Ghana, Prof. Ebo Turkson, the cedi’s current woes is a rather normal phenomenon that often occurs at the beginning of every year.

In an interaction on Accra-based JoyFM 'Super Morning Show' on Tuesday February 22, the economist outlined a number of reasons for the cedi’s persistent depreciation.

“Obviously coming from the fact that most Foreign Direct Investments 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,” the economics professor is quoted by Joy Business.

Prof. Ebo Turkson added that he is however optimistic the cedi depreciation against major trading currencies such as the US dollar will soon bounce back and yield positive results.

With less two months into 2022, the Ghana cedi has depreciated by 4.70 percent to the US dollar in just 45 days of the year.

Currently, the cedi is selling above GH¢7 to the US dollar on the retail market, while trading against the dollar at a buying price of GH¢6.4195 and a selling price of GH¢6.4259 on the Interbank forex exchange market from the Bank of Ghana as at Monday February 21, 2022