The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has stated that it is dedicated to stabilising the exchange rate. The Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee published a statement on Monday, May 27, 2024.
According to the BoG, it has enough foreign exchange reserves to maintain the market. The statement recommended economic agents to avoid speculative purchasing.
The BoG anticipated economic losses when the market corrected itself.
“The Bank of Ghana remains fully committed to providing stability in the exchange rate for the cedi. The Bank has enough foreign exchange reserves to support the market and economic agents should stop engaging in speculative purchases as they will suffer economic losses when the correction occurs,” the BoG stated.
“The pressure in the foreign exchange market reflected increased demand for higher imports, energy sector payments, and uncertainty surrounding the progress of debt restructuring negotiations with external creditors,” it added.
The BoG indicated that these conditions have influenced sentiments and led to additional pressures.
“On a year-to-date basis, the Ghana cedi depreciated by 14.6 per cent against the US dollar as of 22nd May 2024 compared to 21.8 percent depreciation for the first five months of 2023,” it added.
Meanwhile, the BoG has set up a taskforce to monitor illegal operators in the forex market.
The Governor of the Bank, Dr. Ernest Addison, announced this during the 118th monetary policy statement on Monday, May 27, 2024.
The taskforce, he explained, has been setup to help deal with the operations of illegal operators in the foreign exchange market and promote transparency in the market.
“The Bank is fully aware of the operations of illegal operators in the foreign exchange market and is working with the Financial Intelligence Centre to sanitise the foreign exchange market. Foreign exchange bureau monitoring will be stepped up to ensure compliance with their regulatory framework. In line with this, all foreign exchange bureaus advertising rates outside their premises and on social media platforms must immediately desist from the practice.”
“The Bank has set up a task force to monitor all the foreign exchange bureaus to ensure compliance. The foreign exchange market is also affected by sentiments and pronouncements made in this election year and we urge all to manage pronouncements which weakens confidence in the local economy.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
