At a press briefing on Friday, November 14, former Finance Minister Amin Adam said the scale of interventions should have translated into stronger gains. “

With the significant billions of dollars of interventions, we expected the rate to be at GH₵8 to a dollar.

“The market’s muted response reveals a sophisticated understanding that currency strength cannot be purchased; it must be earned through sound economic fundamentals,” he stated.

He argued that the government has leaned on short-lived market support instead of addressing deeper economic weaknesses.

Drawing comparisons, Dr. Adam referenced the IMF-guided programme under the previous NPP administration, saying foreign exchange interventions were tightly regulated. “

During the NPP administration, the IMF restricted the Bank of Ghana from intervening heavily in the forex market. The intervention budget was fixed at US$80 million per month, despite international reserves exceeding the IMF target. By the end of 2024, reserves stood at almost US$9 billion,” he explained.

He claimed the recent improvement in the currency’s value is tied to reserves left by the previous administration.

“The new Bank of Ghana management and the government began injecting massive sums of forex into the market from reserves they inherited. The performance of the cedi is therefore not by any magic or policy intervention; it is due to the hard work under the NPP administration.”

According to the Minority, the central bank has injected about US$8 billion into the market since the start of the year, helping move the exchange rate from around GH₵14 per dollar on January 6, 2025, to nearly GH₵11.

Dr Adam, however, said the outcome remains limited. “Despite these burdensome interventions, the gains remain disappointingly modest and fundamentally unsustainable.”

He also criticised what he described as “propaganda management” of the economy, questioning the benchmark used by government for its comparisons. “Merely repeating an untruth does not make it the truth,” he cautioned.

The Minority believes heavy interventions are draining reserves while critical issues, weak export earnings, sluggish productivity, and low forex inflows, remain unresolved. They warned that any temporary gains are likely to fade once intervention capacity falls.

“These resources have been squandered on temporary cosmetic improvements that will inevitably reverse once intervention capacity is exhausted.”

Dr Adam acknowledged that the Bank of Ghana has now shifted to an updated IMF-backed intervention system, saying it reflects the realities of the current situation.

He described the change as necessary. “The Bank must now intervene in a measured and transparent manner,” he said, calling it the responsible approach needed for long-term stability.

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Data from major commercial banks seen by Joy Business show that between October 6 and October 10, 2025, the cedi appreciated by about 5% on the interbank market.

This marks the first time since the third quarter of 2025 that the cedi has posted such sharp gains against the U.S. dollar.

The local currency had come under sustained pressure during the third quarter, depreciating by 14%, according to the World Bank’s 2025 Africa Pulse Report.

However, from January to August 2025, the cedi’s overall performance shows an appreciation of 21% against the dollar, reversing some of the earlier losses.

Commercial banks told Joy Business that the record performance occurred with minimal market intervention from the Bank of Ghana during that period.

Reasons for the Gains

Bank treasurers attribute the cedi’s recent rally to new forex and monetary policy measures that have improved dollar supply to banks and strengthened enforcement of foreign exchange regulations.

One of the key drivers was the Bank of Ghana’s decision to revise its forex market interventions, moving auctions from weekly to spot sales for commercial banks.

According to the Ghana Association of Banks, this policy shift has enhanced efficiency in the market.

Its Chief Executive, John Awuah, told Joy Business’s PM Express that the currency’s rebound reflects “recent market developments,” also linking the performance to the Bank of Ghana’s decision to review the Net Open Position for commercial banks.

The World Bank highlighted that with a year-to-date gain of 20%, the cedi’s strength has been buoyed by tight fiscal and monetary policies, rising export revenues, and improved market confidence.

During the same period in 2024, the cedi had lost about 19% to the U.S. dollar.

The Bank further noted that the Ghana cedi was the best-performing currency in Africa for the first eight months of 2025.

Market Quotes

Checks by Joy Business revealed that some commercial banks are selling the U.S. dollar at GH¢12.30 for retail transactions.

On the interbank market, trading among banks saw the cedi quoted between GH¢11.95 and GH¢12.05.

The appreciation has also been reflected in the forex bureau market, where, as of October 12, 2025, rates ranged between GH¢13.20 and GH¢13.50 to the dollar.

Background

Earlier this month, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama, announced that the central bank would begin foreign exchange (FX) intermediation under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme from October 2025, with plans to sell up to $1.15 billion during the month.

These sales are being conducted on a spot basis through twice-weekly price-competitive auctions open to all licensed banks.

Dr Asiama explained that the initiative aims to deepen the interbank FX market, enhance price discovery, and smooth volatility — all while maintaining transparent, market-neutral operations.

He emphasised that the overarching goal remains to stabilise the exchange rate, ensure a level playing field, and support sustainable liquidity in the banking system.

Source: Joy Business 

On April 2, 2025, it traded at GH¢15.95 to one US dollar, having gained a slight ground the previous week.

This reflects a year-to-date depreciation of 1.74% against the dollar in the retail market, though it has lost more than 5% in the interbank market.

At the close of last week’s trading, the cedi was quoted at a mid-rate of GH¢15.80 to one dollar.

The improvement came as a result of a easing demand for foreign exchange. As a result, the local currency gained 0.63% week-on-week versus the US dollar, 0.99% against the pound, and 0.88% against the euro.

Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves (excluding encumbered assets) increased by 7.17% in the first two months of 2025, reaching US$6.86 billion as of February 2025, up from US$6.40 billion in December 2024.

This rise in reserves occurred despite a 48% increase in the refined oil import bill.

The current reserve level now stands at three months of import cover, up from 2.9 months at the close of 2024.

Analysts believe the improved reserves have aided the Bank of Ghana’s market support, which has helped keep the cedi stable.

Looking ahead, analysts expect the cedi to remain stable in the near term as the strengthening reserves continue to support supply-side interventions.

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Former President, John Mahama emerged the winner of the 2024 general elections after polling 6,328,397 representing 56.55%.

The Vice President and presidential candidate of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, secured 4, 657, 304, representing 41.61%.

Expectations for cedi

Before the December 7 elections, the Bank of Ghana assured that it had enough dollar buffers to support the cedi.

In addition, there were fears uncertainty surrounding the elections could cause the cedi to depreciate.

However, some observers say events after the December 7 elections will not negatively impact the cedi due to the peaceful nature it was conducted.

It is anticipated that the development could result in the cedi gaining in the coming days.

For many, the peaceful elections also send a positive signal to investors and donor partners about Ghana’s matured democracy.

Some offshore investors engaged by JOYBUSINESS say Dr. Bawumia’s decision to concede defeat signaled a positive path.

Cedi news  

On December 10, 2024, the dollar was going for GH₵16.20 by some forex bureaus.

The British Pound was going for GH₵20. 20.

The Euro was trading at GH₵17.00.

Meanwhile, commercial banks are selling a dollar for GH₵14.80.

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This has culminated in its year-to-date loss of about 12.08% to the American greenback.

Checks by Joy Business indicate that most forex bureaus are selling the dollar for GH¢14 cedis on average to the American greenback.

Most analysts had anticipated the local unit to extend its depreciation against the dollar this week.

This is despite Fitch Solutions predicting that the cedi will end the year at GH¢12 cedis 25, arguing it will recoup some of its recent losses in the months ahead.  

The London-based firm believes the local unit will strengthen as the government makes progress regarding the restructuring of its commercial debt.

Dollar remains stronger globally

In recent times, the US dollar has continued to remain stronger, as the rising US treasury yields firmed the American greenback globally.

The US inflation quickened to 3.5% year-on-year in March 2024, backed by higher energy and shelter costs. Following the developments, the Federal Reserve announced that interest rates need to stay higher for longer to beat inflation to the 2% medium-term target.

The announcement saw the US dollar index rise 101 basis points week-on-week along with US treasury yields, which put most African currencies on the back foot last week.

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