Ghana's Cedi Slides 10.28% to 11.61 per Dollar as Energy Demand Drains FX
Updated
Updated · Asaase Radio · May 25
Ghana's Cedi Slides 10.28% to 11.61 per Dollar as Energy Demand Drains FX
5 articles · Updated · Asaase Radio · May 25
11.61 cedis per dollar by late May left Ghana's currency down 10.28% in 2026, the weakest performance in West Africa after being Africa's best performer in 2025.
Persistent dollar demand from energy importers is overwhelming supply: Brent crude has jumped 55.7% to $103.2 a barrel while cocoa, Ghana's main export earner, has fallen 60.7% to $3,350 a tonne.
$424 million in bids chased a $125 million Bank of Ghana FX auction in January, a 3.4-times oversubscription that signaled a backlog Reuters said kept weighing on the cedi.
3.4% inflation, $13.9 billion in reserves and a debt ratio cut to 42.2% of GDP have not stopped the slide because lower rates, 28.7% credit growth and reversing speculative inflows are boosting dollar demand.
The selloff highlights a structural gap in Ghana's recovery: macro stabilization improved paper indicators, but not the foreign-exchange earning capacity needed to offset fuel imports and weaker cocoa receipts.
Ghana's economy is reportedly growing, so why is its currency the worst performer in West Africa?
Can a massive new petroleum hub truly rescue Ghana's falling cedi from its deep energy import dependency?