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| Alarm bells over cedi depreciation |
6/16/2013 |
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Government Statistician, Philomena Nyarko has noted that the current woes of the cedi could have serious implications on the economy. The local currency has come under serious pressure over the past months as a result of high demand for dollars by businesses to cover their imports. Analysts have put the cedis'' depreciation from January at around five percent against the dollar. For instance you would today need a little over two Ghana cedis to get a dollar. Government statistician tells Joy Business “since our economy is import dependent, prices of goods could soon be sky rocketing”. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered Bank says inflation could be rising sharply in the coming months. This is in sharp contrast to an earlier statement made by the Government Statistician yesterday, when she told Joy Business that inflation outlook is favourable because of the expected harvest season in July. Speaking to Joy Business from London, Head Research for StandChart Africa, Razia Khan says outlook is bleak rather than stable.
According to her, the increases in the prices of petroleum products, the likelihood of higher utility prices and the ongoing weakness of the cedi against the major currencies could see inflation rise faster.
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