Ghana’s local currency, the cedi, is on course to record its first-ever annual appreciation against the United States dollar since its redenomination in 2007.
Data tracked by JoyNews Research indicates that the cedi has appreciated by about 36% year-to-date against the US greenback, compared to an average annual depreciation of 14.9% between 2008 and 2024.
Following the 2007 redenomination, the local currency has never posted a cumulative annual gain against the dollar. The steepest depreciations were recorded during the crisis years of 2014, 2022, and 2023, which were marked by fiscal instability and external shocks.
Ghana’s local currency, the cedi, is on course to record its first-ever annual appreciation against the United States dollar since its redenomination in 2007.
Data tracked by JoyNews Research indicates that the cedi has appreciated by about 36% year-to-date against the US greenback, compared to an average annual depreciation of 14.9% between 2008 and 2024.
Following the 2007 redenomination, the local currency has never posted a cumulative annual gain against the dollar. The steepest depreciations were recorded during the crisis years of 2014, 2022, and 2023, which were marked by fiscal instability and external shocks.
This year, however, the cedi has taken a different trajectory, buoyed by strong inflows from gold and cocoa exports, as well as improved fiscal management under the IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme.
The rapid and unprecedented appreciation of the cedi in 2025 has strengthened Ghana’s credit outlook, with the debt-to-GDP ratio falling below 50% for the first time in years.
Analysts attribute this performance to a combination of disciplined monetary policy, enhanced foreign exchange inflows, and record interventions by the Bank of Ghana.
Since 2022, the BoG’s total market interventions have exceeded $10 billion, helping to provide liquidity and anchor the currency. Although 2024 saw the highest intervention of about $3 billion, JoyNews sources suggest that 2025’s interventions are expected to surpass that figure, as the apex bank intensifies efforts to sustain exchange rate stability.
Foreign exchange inflows have been further boosted by the Goldbod initiative, which has generated about $12 billion from small-scale gold exports. Remittances and cocoa receipts have also served as strong buffers.
