Ghana’s Cedi has declined by 53.8% in value against major currencies, since the beginning of 2022, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said.
Presenting the 2023 Budget in Parliament on Thursday, Mr. Ofori-Atta blamed the demand for foreign exchange as one of the reasons for the decline of the cedi.
“The demand for foreign exchange to support our unbridled demand for imports undermines and weakens the value of the cedi. This contributed to the depreciation of the Cedi which has lost about 53.8% of its value since the beginning of this year, compared to the average 7% annual depreciation of the Cedi between 2017 and 2021.”
Mr Ofori-Atta added that the Bank of Ghana will continue to monitor inflation developments and respond appropriately to contain price pressures. He said Monetary Policy will focus on using the monetary policy rate to, among others, contain inflationary pressures.
