The Ghana cedi again depreciated in value Wednesday. It follows a string of losses that has seen the local currency depreciate by almost 3 percent against the dollar since the beginning of the year. You’d need 1 Ghana cedi 49 pesewas to buy the dollar this afternoon for instance. This is the lowest value drop in the value of the currency since it was redenominated in 2007. The Governor of the Bank of Ghana Kwesi Amissah-Arthur meanwhile says the current decline in the value of the cedi is temporary and has assured investors that they shouldn’t be worried. In an interview with the Reuters News Agency, the governor attributed it to imports by businesses to replenish stocks after the holidays. He also believes it could be symptoms of the Dutch disease, a phenomenon that usually plagues new entrants in the league of oil producing countries. Mr Amissah-Arthur however assured the minimal impact is indicative that the measures put in place to counter the effect are working. The phenomenon nonetheless has far reaching implications for businesses that import their raw materials since it may cost them more and this could lead to an increase in the price of their products. Source: Joy News/Ghana