The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiama, has given hope to Ghanaians that the prices of goods and services could start to go down soon. This comes as the Ghanaian cedi has appreciated by nearly 24% since the beginning of the year.
Retailers and importers are now under pressure to reduce their prices in response to the cedi’s stronger performance. Many people are calling on businesses to reflect the currency gains in their pricing, as part of efforts to maintain economic stability.
However, Dr Asiama has urged people to see the cedi’s appreciation in proper context. He dismissed worries that the stronger currency would hurt Ghana’s exports, saying the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had carefully looked at the exchange rate and did not see any major risks to trade.
Speaking at a press conference after the MPC meeting on Friday, 23 May 2024, Dr Asiama explained that the effects of a stronger currency usually take time to show up in the economy.
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You can understand that some people stock their goods at a higher exchange rate. So naturally, even with the appreciation – it takes a while for you to see that adjustment. However, rest assured that you will see the adjustment certainly so long as there is competition, so long as it is not a monopoly, and we will see that kind of phenomenon very soon.
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Ghana’s currency performance this year
He added:
Much as you want to have cedi stability in nominal terms, the important thing here is to ensure that in real terms, the cedi is not appreciating persistently. We think that where we are now, we don’t have that problem of real appreciation that would adversely impact our competitiveness.
The cedi has performed strongly this year, reaching record levels against major currencies. It has gained 24.1% against the US dollar, 16.2% against the British Pound, and 14.1% against the Euro.
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As of May 2025, the cedi trades at GH₵11.85 to the dollar, GH₵15.84 to the pound, and GH₵13.34 to the euro, according to the Bank of Ghana.
