Bloomberg report indicates that the Ghana Cedi is now the second worst-performing currency.
The cedi dropped 1.1% at 11:03 a.m. in Accra, extending its fall this week to 5.2%. That’s the worst decline since the seven-day period ending March 29, 2019. The measure has plunged 35% this year, making it the world’s worst-performing currency after Sri Lanka’s rupee among 150 economies tracked by Bloomberg.
The country anticipates a further surge in inflation as the new data set indicates that possibility. Ghana’s producer prices in July jumped 41.2%, the fastest pace in eight years. The worsening economic situation may spur the central bank to raise its policy rate by 200 basis points to 21% Wednesday, according to predictions by economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Ghana approached the International Monetary Fund for a loan earlier this year following the cedi’s incessant depreciation and accelerating inflation.
Ghana requested a loan from the IMF earlier this year as a result of the continuous depreciation of the cedi and rising inflation.
The urgent meeting follows Monday’s announcement by Ghanaian authorities that water and energy rates will increase by 22% and 27%, respectively, starting next month. These rises will worsen Ghana’s inflation outlook, according to Ridle Markus, an economist for Absa Group Ltd.
