Cedi ranked 14th best performing currency in Africa for 2021 – Bloomberg survey

Ghana cedi placed 3rd in West Africa for performance

Cedi lost 4.98% in value against US dollar in 2021, Bloomberg survey

Local currency came under intense pressure in latter part of 2021

The Ghana cedi has been ranked in 14th place among its other peers of currencies in Africa for 2021, a Bloomberg tracking survey has shown.

While the cedi recorded significant gains in the first half of 2021, the Bloomberg tracking survey of African currencies classified the local currency in the ‘Worst Spot Returns’ while it placed 3rd in West Africa in terms of performance.

Bloomberg explained that the value of the Ghana cedi recorded a loss of 4.98 percent against the US dollar in 2021 while data released from other institutions showed a slightly lower decline in the value of the cedi against the US dollar.

In the latter part of 2021, the cedi came under intense pressure due to a number of factors. These include high corporate demand for US dollars and the exit of Ghana’s bond by some foreign investors on the international capital market.

In addition, the importations of goods by traders in the latter part of 2021 also increased demand for the US dollar which placed the cedi under pressure.

While there still remains increased demand for oil output, improvement in exports amongst other factors, the US dollar inflows were still not enough to stabilise the Ghana cedi as expected by some market analysts.

For now, there remains some uncertainty over the projected outlook of the Ghana cedi.

Meanwhile, according to the Bloomberg tracking survey, the Zambian Kwacha was ranked as the best performing currency with the ‘Best Spot Returns’ of 2021.