The Bank of Ghana has defended the daily publication of foreign exchange rates, which puts the rates lower than what is sold in the retail or forex market.

According to the Central Bank, the rates are weighted average of transaction rates collected and collated from the commercial banks offered to customers.

Some individuals have criticised the Central Bank for the publication of foreign exchange rates which does not reflect the current retail market rates.

But answering questions at the Public Accounts Committee meeting, First Deputy Governor, Dr. Maxwell Opoku Afari explained that the rates from the Central Bank are weighted average of transaction rates of the banks which the banks publish as indicative rates.

“The Bank of Ghana does not have the Bank of Ghana rate as we speak. So, what is being twitted is our indicative rates…transaction rates collected from commercials banks at the end of the previous day at 3pm. The weighted average [of banks] based on transaction volume and then published for the benefit of the general public.”

“The difference you see from the commercial banks is that when you go to your bank this morning, they would have published an indicative rate but not a transaction rate. So when you see ¢13 or ¢12 , the bank is saying that as you come to my bank, you may get this rate but depending on the type of transaction you want, you may even get it ¢10 or ¢11”, he explained.

Dr. Opoku-Afari pointed out that there is huge margin between the indicative rate and the previous day transactional rate.

“So you look at the indicative rate and you compare it to their previous day’s transactional rates, you will see a huge margin. The transaction rate is not different from what Bank of Ghana publishes”, he continued.