Economist, Professor Ebo Turkson, has described the recent depreciation of the Ghana cedi as not worrying, saying, the trend would be reversed soon.
He therefore expressed confidence in the local currency experiencing some marginal appreciation in the coming days.
Speaking to Joy Business at a stakeholder engagement workshop on Special Drawing Rights by the International Monetary Fund, Prof Turkson, however, warned that the speculative activity about the cedi depreciation or dollar growth will further weaken the currency and have adverse effects on importers who rely on the dollar to trade.
"We don’t need to be necessarily worried about the recent depreciation of the cedi. I think that because of the auction for the BDCs [Bulk Oil Distributors] and the Central Bank is unable to meet all of that, it tends to lead to speculative activities, so people who don't need the forex are running to cash in".
Expressing confidence about expected foreign inflows, Professor Turkson stressed “hopefully as we get more inflows, it will position the Central Bank to meet the demands of the forex”.
“So we need to be more concern about the speculative factors and address it", he added.
The cedi has depreciated by 8.63% to the dollar since January 1, 2024, with one dollar going for GH¢13.60
The cedi has come under intense pressure in the past three weeks, falling heavily against the US dollar and the other major foreign currencies.
Professor Turkson called on all Ghanaians to remain calm and desist from speculating about the cedi’s depreciation.
He also called for an urgent look at Ghana's export revenues.
He stressed the need for more value addition of natural resources for more revenues.
"We also need to hope that our export increases in terms of revenue because that will help us a lot", he said.
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