A leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has accused some forex traders of creating artificial shortages on the market in order to hike the prices of currencies they deal in.
His comment comes on the back of the free fall of the Ghana Cedi compared to some major trading currencies.
At present, the Cedi is pegged at GH¢10 to a US Dollar at some forex bureaus – a situation which has resulted in a hike in prices of products on the largely import-dependent Ghanaian market and its attendant general increase in the cost of living.
In a Twitter post on August 22, Gabby said the ‘hoarding’ of national currencies has become a stock in trade of forex traders, particularly in Accra.
His post was accompanied by a video in which two traders of what appears to be eggs were seen sitting adjacent to each other.
A customer buys a crate of eggs from the one whose price was lower compelling the other to reduce her price significantly.
The one who the customer bought from subsequently buys the crate of eggs from the other seller leaving her with none and subsequently astronomically hikes the price of the eggs.
“This is what some foreign exchange traders in Accra are suspected to be doing. You suck up fx from other market players, which allows you to create artificial shortages in certain quarters and then hike up prices,” Gabby tweeted.
Cedi classified as worst performing currency in the world after Sri Lanka's
The cedi was ranked as the worst performing currency among 150 currencies in the world according to a Bloomberg currency performance ranking.
The survey by the international news organisation showed the Cedi came in the last but one place in terms of performance since the start of 2022.
Since the start of this year, the Ghana cedi has suffered persistent depreciation against major trading currencies, especially the US dollar.
The fall in the currency is due to demand for forex as it overtook supplies during a period when high debts and low investor confidence have made it impossible for Ghana to access the international capital market for borrowing.
As of July, this year, the cedi lost its value by more than 20 percent.
This is what some foreign exchange traders in Accra are suspected to be doing. You suck up fx from other market players, which allows you to create artificial shortages in certain quarters and then hike up prices. https://t.co/23o99QHKqn
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party