Cedi the Fourth Worst-Performing Currency in Sub-Saharan Africa, Loses 24% Value in 2024 – World Bank Report
The World Bank’s October 2024 Africa Pulse Report highlights that the cedi is one of the weakest-performing currencies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for 2024, having lost about 24% of its value against the US dollar.
This places the cedi as the fourth worst-performing currency in the region, behind South Sudan’s pound (over 60%), Ethiopia’s birr (51%), and Nigeria’s naira (over 40%).
The depreciation of the cedi along with the other African currencies – naira, birr and Sudan’s pound – is attributed to persistent demand for foreign exchange and limited supply.
For instance, the Nigerian naira, which experienced a 43% depreciation by the end of August 2024, suffered from a high demand for US dollars in the parallel market, alongside constrained dollar inflows.
In contrast, the Kenyan shilling has been the best-performing currency in Africa this year, appreciating by about 21% as of August 2024.
The South African rand and currencies pegged to it have also strengthened by 3.1%, showing a positive turnaround after a weaker 2023.
Despite some currency stabilization, the report warns of ongoing foreign exchange shortages, with more than one-third of the sampled African countries expected to have less than three months of import cover in international reserves by the end of 2024.
This highlights the continued pressure on African economies regarding exchange rate management and foreign reserves.
