Ghana’s Cedi Weakens to Record Low as Importers Buy Dollars
January 17, 2012, 8:21 AM ESTBy Moses Mozart Dzawu
Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Ghana’s cedi, the world’s third- worst performing currency against the dollar this year, weakened to the lowest on record as companies bought the U.S. currency to pay for imports.
The currency of the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer depreciated 1 percent to 1.7335 per dollar as of 11:05 a.m. in Accra, the capital. A close at this level will be the lowest since May 1994 when Bloomberg began compiling data. The cedi has depreciated 5.4 percent this year.
“We are seeing strong dollar demand from the commerce and manufacturing industry, most I believe are built up from last year,” Jacob Brobbey, a currency trader at the Ghanaian unit of Barclays Bank Plc, said in a telephone interview. “With time we hope to see mining companies and non-governmental organizations sell dollars on the market.”
The cedi may strengthen to 1.69 per dollar this week as companies receive funds from abroad to finance their operations in the country, Biggles Amponsah, a currency trader at the Ghanaian unit of Access Bank Plc, said by phone today.
--Editors: Stephen Kirkland, Peter Branton
To contact reporter on this story: Moses Dzawu in Accra at mdzawu@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.
