By Adnan Adams Mohammed
As stakeholders of the Ghanaian economy are upbeat about the impressive performance with all macroeconomic indicators recording positive figures, industry players desire for more.
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) is urging the Bank of Ghana to further ease monetary policy, citing declining inflation and exchange rate stability as opportunities to unlock cheaper credit for industry.
AGI CEO Seth Twum-Akwaboah stresses that a more accommodative credit environment will support investment, production, and job creation. “We expect interest rates to fall with consistent policy rate drops,” he said.
Dr Assibey-Yeboah’s stance
The call comes as Ghana’s economy grew 3.8% (year on year) in October 2025, driven by services and industry. However, economist Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah warns an overvalued cedi hurts exporters and state revenue.
The former Member of Parliament for New Juaben South described the Ghana cedi as currently overvalued, saying while the strength of the local currency is not artificial, it has exceeded an optimal level for the economy.
“Our currency right now is overvalued. It’s not artificial, but there’s an optimum that we have to reach. This exchange rate that people are fixated on is affecting a lot of exporters,” he said.
He pointed to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) as institutions bearing the brunt of the strong cedi.
“If you speak to COCOBOD right now, they are reeling under the strong currency. COCOBOD is not happy about the exchange rate, and GRA is not, as it’s affecting their revenues. All exporters are reeling under the currency,” he stated.
According to him, even the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) could benefit from a slightly weaker currency.
“Even GoldBod, if the currency weakens some more, they will not incur the losses,” he noted.
Dr. Assibey-Yeboah further explained that a strong currency could make Ghana a less attractive destination for tourists.
“A person coming to Ghana for a vacation, if the dollar is strong, they are not happy. They want to exchange the cedi and get more cedis,” he said.
As the US dollar demand rises amid businesses restock, the Bank of Ghana assures exchange rate stability with US$13.8 billion in reserves.
October’s Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth
Ghana’s economy recorded a provisional year on year growth rate of 3.8% in October 2025, up from 3.0% in the same period last year, according to the Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The latest data point to a year-on-year expansion in economic output, signalling a stronger overall performance compared to October 2024, largely driven by sustained activity in the services and industry sectors.
The services sector remained the main growth driver, expanding by 5.5% in October 2025, marginally lower than the 5.6% recorded a year earlier. Despite the slight slowdown, the sector accounted for a dominant 74.7% of total economic growth, supported mainly by communication, wholesale and retail trade subsectors.
The industry sector posted a notable improvement, recording growth of 3.0%, a sharp rise from 0.4% in October 2024. This stronger performance reflects a broader expansion in industrial activity and contributed 28.7% to the overall growth rate for the month.
In contrast, agriculture growth slowed significantly to 0.9%, compared to 2.1% in the same period last year. The data suggest that the pace of economic activity within the agriculture sector was less pronounced, contributing just 1.3% to the overall growth recorded in October.
Overall, the October 2025 MIEG figures indicate a steady recovery in economic momentum, underpinned by resilient services activity and improving industrial performance, even as agriculture continues to lag behind other sectors. The GSS notes that the MIEG provides a timely snapshot of short-term economic trends, complementing quarterly and annual GDP estimates used for broader policy analysis
FX intermediation programme
In December 2025, the Bank of Ghana announced plans to sell up to US$1 billion to the market in January 2026 under its Foreign Exchange Intermediation Programme.
The auctions, according to the bank, are being guided by the newly approved Foreign Exchange Operations Framework.
The central bank said the move marks the operationalisation of measures under the framework and aligns with its reserve accumulation objectives.
It added that the programme is expected to help dampen volatility in the foreign exchange market when needed, particularly under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
In November 2025, the Bank of Ghana said its Board had approved the new Foreign Exchange Operations Framework to clarify the objectives and principles guiding its FX operations.
The regulator said the framework reinforces its commitment to macroeconomic stability under the inflation-targeting regime and a flexible, market-determined exchange rate system.
Cedi’s performance in 2025
The Bank of Ghana reported that the cedi recorded a cumulative appreciation of 40.67% against the US dollar in 2025, ending the year at about GH¢10.45 to the dollar.
In December, average daily trading volume on the interbank market stood at US$19.7 million, contributing to a total monthly volume of about US$394 million.
Attention is now turning to the central bank’s strategy for the first quarter of 2026, a period when the cedi typically faces pressure from rising import demand and dividend payments to foreign shareholders.
