The cedi depreciated by 7.9 per cent against the United States dollar on the interbank foreign exchange market during the first half of 2026, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has disclosed.
According to the BoG’s latest Monetary Policy Report, the cedi also weakened by 6.5 per cent against the British pound and 5.3 per cent against the euro on a year-to-date basis as of June 2026.
The Central Bank attributed the decline to renewed pressures on the domestic foreign exchange market, despite the US dollar weakening on the international market.
“On the interbank market, the cedi depreciated by 7.9 per cent, 6.5 per cent and 5.3 per cent against the dollar, pound and euro, respectively, on a year-to-date basis,” the report stated.
The performance represents a sharp reversal from the same period in 2025, when the cedi recorded strong gains against the three major currencies.
In the first half of 2025, the cedi appreciated by 42.6 per cent against the dollar, 30.3 per cent against the pound and 25.6 per cent against the euro.
The report explained that although the US dollar entered July weaker on the global market due to expectations surrounding economic data, emerging market currencies performed differently because of country-specific economic vulnerabilities.
The cedi came under particularly strong pressure in May 2026 but later recovered, helping to reduce the overall losses recorded earlier in the year.
Despite the depreciation, the Bank of Ghana expressed optimism about the cedi’s medium-term outlook. It expects remittance inflows and easing pressures in the foreign exchange market to support the currency.
“Over the medium term, the Ghana cedi is expected to remain relatively stable as foreign exchange demand from financial intermediation moderates the pressures on the cedi, along with remittance flows,” it said.
The Central Bank also noted that the cedi was less volatile during the first 140 trading days of 2026 compared with the same period in previous years.
On a trade-weighted basis, the cedi depreciated by 6.1 per cent in nominal trade-weighted terms and by 8.3 per cent in nominal foreign exchange transaction-weighted terms during the review period.
