President Nana Akufo-Addo says efforts are being made to halt the ongoing depreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar.
According to the President, the development is of concern to him just as it is for the business community and the ordinary Ghanaian.
For some time now the foreign exchange rates especially for the US dollar provided by the Bank of Ghana has been significantly different from the rates one would get on the foreign exchange retail market.
According to analysts the widening gap between the rates on the two markets is quite normal within the first quarter of a year, however, they are attributing the eyebrow-raising depreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar on the retail market, in this quarter to high corporate demand for US dollars, and US Dollar demands associated with crude oil purchases among others.
While the US Dollar was going for GHC 6.43 on the interbank foreign exchange market as of February 18, after starting the year at about GHC 6 which represents a depreciation of about 7%, the greenback on the retail market is selling at about GHC 7 at some forex bureaus.
Commenting on the situation last week, President Akufo-Addo noted that all will be done to stabilize the Ghana Cedi.
“I’m aware of the anxiety there is in business circles and throughout the population about the recent depreciation of the Cedi. I’m extremely upset and anxious about it too. But I want to assure you that all efforts are being made to arrest the decline and restore the Cedi to stability in order to improve the competitiveness of Ghanaian industry and I think very soon you will see some results.”