The Ghana cedi recorded the sharpest depreciation among monitored African currencies between March and June 2026, losing nearly 10% of its value against the US dollar, according to the World Bank’s October 2026 Africa Economic Update.
The cedi’s decline was steeper than that of the Lesotho loti, Namibian dollar, South African rand and Swaziland lilangeni, all of which depreciated by more than 6% over the period.
The World Bank linked the broad weakening of African currencies to the escalation of the Middle East conflict, which triggered higher oil and energy prices, increased demand for US dollars and heightened pressure on foreign reserves.
“Most countries with available daily exchange rate data recorded currency depreciations during the second quarter of 2026 relative to end-February, before the conflict intensified. In seven of the 22 countries monitored (excluding the CFA franc zone), the maximum depreciation exceeded 5.0%, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, the Seychelles, and South Africa,” the report stated.
The Bank, however, noted that the pressure eased in subsequent months.
“By end-August, however, much of this pressure had eased, with only 10 currencies remaining weaker than their end-February levels,” it added.
The World Bank said rising energy costs increased import bills for net energy-importing economies, while geopolitical uncertainty encouraged investors to move capital into safer assets, putting additional pressure on emerging and frontier-market currencies.
It also warned that disruptions to supplies from the Middle East increased the cost of agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, contributing to imported inflation.
For countries with significant external debt obligations, the depreciation of local currencies also increased the domestic cost of servicing US dollar-denominated debt, further adding to fiscal pressures.
Meanwhile, the cedi has remained under pressure in recent weeks, with its year-to-date depreciation against the US dollar reaching 10.04%.
On the interbank market, the cedi weakened by 1.39% to GH¢11.62 to the dollar over the latest two-week period. It, however, appreciated by 0.70% against the pound and 0.47% against the euro, trading at GH¢15.40 and GH¢13.24 respectively.
On the retail forex market, the cedi gained 0.21% against the dollar and 0.91% against the euro, trading at GH¢11.93 and GH¢13.73 respectively. It weakened by 0.31% against the pound to GH¢15.88.
