Ghana’s financial markets delivered mixed results last week as Treasury bill demand fell and the cedi weakened further, even as the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) extended a powerful bullish rally led by banking and telecommunications stocks.
The benchmark GSE Composite Index closed the week at 14,518.96 points, lifting its year-to-date return to 65.55%. The gains contrasted sharply with renewed pressure on the local currency and softer investor appetite for short-term government debt.
Treasury bill demand cools
Investor demand at the latest Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) auction dropped to GH₵4.22 billion from GH₵5.79 billion the previous week. The government had targeted GH₵4.49 billion, leaving the auction undersubscribed by 5.9%.
Authorities still accepted the bulk of bids, taking up 99.41% of the 91-day offers, 82.43% of the 182-day tenor and 85.62% of the 364-day bills. Yields held broadly steady, with the 91-day rate easing one basis point to 4.91%, the 182-day flat at 7.04% and the 364-day down two basis points to 10.37%. The government plans to seek GH₵5.89 billion at the next auction.
Secondary market edges up
Activity on the secondary fixed income market grew marginally, with GFIM trading volumes rising 0.2% week-on-week to GH₵6.93 billion. Treasury bills dominated at 49.60% of total trades, followed by Sell-Buy Back transactions at 39.19% and Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bonds at 9.94%. Corporate bonds and new Government of Ghana notes made up the remainder.
Cedi slips again
The cedi came under fresh pressure across major currencies. Bank of Ghana interbank midrates showed it depreciating 3.01% against the US dollar to GH₵11.63, deepening its year-to-date loss to 10.11%. It also weakened 1.65% against the pound to GH₵15.62 and 1.56% against the euro to GH₵13.48.
Analysts at Tesah Capital attributed the slide to sustained foreign exchange demand from importers and corporate institutions, though authorities expect ongoing reforms and reserve accumulation to support medium-term stability.
Equities extend rally
The rally was powered by Zen Petroleum, which surged 28.21% to GH₵9.68 for a year-to-date gain of 93.60%. Intravenous Infusions Limited (IIL) rose 14.29% to GH₵0.08, MTN Ghana (MTNGH) advanced 3.70% to GH₵6.73, and GCB Bank gained 2.75% to GH₵36.99.
On the losers’ table, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL) fell 1.40% to GH₵14.75 and CAL Bank slipped 1.30% to GH₵0.76. Trading volumes jumped more than tenfold to 58.16 million shares from 5.28 million, with total turnover reaching about GH₵40.73 million. Tesah Capital expects financial and ICT stocks to keep driving the market in the coming weeks.
