Ghanaian Cedis Becomes World Best Currency Against U.S. Dollar

Nigerians on social media have reacted to the current performance of the Ghanaian Cedis as the world’s best currency performer against the dollar this week.

The ranking of the Ghanian cedis comes amid optimism that the debt-distressed country is moving closer to unlocking an International Monetary Fund bailout.

The cedi has rallied 10% in the past five days, the biggest advance among about 150 currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

This year, Ghana’s exchange rate had lost half its value and occupied the bottom of the charts.

The gains came even as the West African nation put its local-currency sovereign bonds in what Fitch Ratings described as a “default-like process,” The holders of its dollar bonds braced for capital losses. The restructuring is needed to put Ghana’s debt on a sustainable path and secure a $3 billion IMF loan.

“The currency was the cheapest in Africa, more than 30% undervalued versus its 25-year history last week, so some rebound after the huge fall recently isn’t that surprising,” said Charles Robertson, the chief global economist at Renaissance Capital Ltd. in London. “Also we have the IMF in town, which should pave the way for dollar support.”