Ghana: Inflows to boost cedi’s strength

GHANA’S cedi would firm in the last six months of the year because of inflows from the sale of a eurobond and a syndicated loan for cocoa producers, Finance Minister Seth Terkper said. The currency’s 26 percent decline against the dollar in the first half was seasonal and was made worse by the greenback’s strength, Terkper said at a conference in Accra. The cedi is the worst performer this year of the 24 African currencies tracked. Ghana’s government was on track to meet its budget deficit target and the currency would improve in the second half of the year, the International Monetary Fund said this week. Ghana agreed to a loan of about $1 billion (R12bn) from the lender this year to help support the currency and narrow the fiscal gap. – Bloomberg