The prices of beverages produced by soft drink maker, Coca Cola have gone up sharply in what officials say has largely to do with the depreciation of the cedi. The recommended retail price of the popular 300 milliliter bottle of Coca Cola is now up from 70 pesewas to 1 cedi. This took effect on the market from June 01 except for a few retailers who still have some old stock. Another beverage maker, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited is also feeling the impact of the depreciation. It’s Managing Director; Peter Ndegwa however tells Joy News they don’t intend to pass it on to the consumer, at least not yet. “We import a lot of our production materials especially barley and malt. A depreciating cedi therfore means an increase in cost of sales. So the level of depreciation at this stage means that our production cost increases and we might be forced to take other measures” he noted. Apart from Soft drinks, prices of cement, rice, cars, mortgages, among others have also risen in recent times with many more items expected to follow suit should the decline continue. This is mainly as a result of the about 20 percent decline in the value of the cedi since the beginning of the year despite the several interventions by the Central Bank. A Forex Bureau operator here at Kokomlemle, Sammy Okine explains the cedi has gained some value in recent days. “As compared to almost about a month or two now, the cedi is doing better. At Forex Buraeus, the dollar is currently selling for between 1.91 and 1.95 cedis even though it had dropped to as low as 1.99” he said. JOY BUSINESS checks indicate interbank trading in the dollar has virtually stalled in recent days because there is very little to trade. Analysts believe this could explain the current relative stability but which they say is quite deceptive. The dollar is trading between 1.86 and 1.90 cedis on the interbank market. The Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has however said he expects the interventions introduced by government to stabilize the cedi by the end of this month. Analysts have however questioned the minister’s projection on the basis that such interventions should take about six months to impact.