<<Print>>

Citi Business News has learnt forex dealers and individuals who for some months now have been hording foreign currencies due to the performance of the cedi have begun releasing them.

The local currency since last week and the beginning of this week recorded gains against the US dollar; it closed trading on Friday gaining 7.8 percent in value over the greenback.

The cedi this year has depreciated in excess of 26 percent against the US dollar.

Speaking to Citi Business News a forex bureau operator who wanted to stay anonymous said speculation has also affected the market.

“The cedi has been gaining some strength against the major trading currencies on Monday by close of day people were rushing to change their dollars knowing that the cedi was gaining which means they were going to lose value on their dollars.”

The forex bureau operator told Citi Business News that most operators of forex bureau owners had halted the buying of dollars due to the uncertainty on the market at the moment.

He also attributed the sharp decline of the dollar and other major trading currencies to speculation in the market saying the rates on the market is driven by speculation.

“Speculation is a contributing factor in driving the forex rates up or down in this country and that is why when the government through the bank of Ghana said they are going to pump 20 million dollars into the market daily we have seen the cedi now appreciate against other major foreign currencies”

Currently the cedi is being bought by the forex bureaus at 3 cedis 85 pesewas while they sell at 4 cedis 25 pesewas.