The World Bank has lauded the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for its interventions that helped drive the cedi’s sharp turnaround in 2025.
In its 10th Ghana Economic Update, the Bank said the cedi’s real effective exchange rate appreciated by 28% while the nominal effective exchange rate rose by 26% in the year under review.
According to the World Bank, Ghana’s current account and exchange rate remain in line with economic fundamentals, considering the country’s position as a commodity exporter.
The Bank, however, noted that the cedi’s sharp appreciation in the second quarter of 2025 created some exchange rate uncertainty, leading to a gap between the official and parallel markets.
The parallel-market premium averaged 12.4% between June and December 2025. To address the pressure, the Bank of Ghana in November 2025 introduced a Foreign Exchange Operations Framework to improve transparency, build reserves and manage volatility.
The report said after appreciating by about 29% against the US dollar between January and December 2025, the cedi depreciated by 8.1% from January to June 2026.
The World Bank attributed the depreciation to high forex demand from the energy sector and dividend payments by private firms, despite strong inflows from Ghana’s trade surplus.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghana has described the drop as normal under Ghana’s managed floating regime, saying the gap between the official and black market has narrowed.
The premium dropped to an average of 8.1% in the first half of 2026, from 12.4% last year.
But the World Bank says the premium is still high, showing that pressures in the forex market remain, saying sustaining the cedi’s stability will depend on policy credibility, stronger reserves and effective management of the forex market.
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