The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has urged Ghanaians to not panic or put further pressure on the cedi as the currency continued its rapid slide against the US dollar in October.
Thursday's depreciation (as much as 9.5 per cent against the US dollar), the biggest in 22 years, took losses suffered by the Ghana cedi to nearly 52% this year, the worst performance among 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
According to Mr. Ofori-Atta, it is quite perplexing to see the level of the cedi's depreciation. He said the current level of depreciation may have been occasioned by a rush for dollars to import Christmas goods.
Mr Ofori-Atta was hopeful that the slide would be halted when the government reaches an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic support this year.
"...It's quite perplexing to see where it's going. Of course, typically in October, people are importing for Christmas and maybe there's a rush for that (the dollar) but my expectation is that once we also conclude with the Fund (IMF), that will lead to the fund's disbursement early next year to do that," Mr. Ofori-Atta said in an interview with Asaase Radio.
"The support we are getting from countries like Germany and France, we are confident that we will get the resources needed, so we really would want people to know not to panic or be rushing in order to put pressure on the currency, I think it's unnecessary and we are in good shape".
Ghana is hoping to receive as much as $3 billion under an IMF extended credit facility program to bolster its finances and regain access to global capital markets.
He added that additional support from countries such as Germany and France would provide the country with the funds needed to halt the slide of the cedi.
Latest Stories
-
EC refutes claims of overprinting ballot papers for upcoming elections
18 seconds -
We’ve generated 2.6m jobs, a record high for any government – Bawumia
5 mins -
GPL 2024/25: Legon Cities, Young Apostles chase back-to-back wins
1 hour -
Marcelo has Fluminense contract terminated after arguing with coach
1 hour -
Glorious Women on the Go hold summit on divorce; offers free breast screening
1 hour -
Ghana ready to roll out new SHS curriculum
2 hours -
Ahoufe Patri unveils best wireless earbuds ‘ZenPod Pro’ for Kora Wearables
2 hours -
Trasacco Properties Ltd and Micheletti & Co Ltd begin construction on Akaya: Exclusive residences in a master planned estate
2 hours -
Breaking Barriers: How Ghanaian Mac Sarbah landed a lead role at The Bill Melinda Gates Foundation
2 hours -
Ghana’s Reks Brobby joins AU Technical Committee for 2027 African Games
2 hours -
Newmont champions breast cancer awareness among employees and host communities
3 hours -
UBA Ghana announces 3rd-Quarter performance with impressive growth across key metrics
3 hours -
Sylvester Tetteh transforms Tuba with new Astroturf and infrastructure
3 hours -
Martin Amidu warns GBA against ‘dangerous’ blind loyalty to Chief Justice
3 hours -
Martin Amidu questions CJ’s closure of Upper East courts amid Bawku crisis
4 hours