Ghana’s financial markets delivered a mixed but largely resilient performance over the review period, with strong activity on the secondary bond market and continued bullish momentum on the equities market, even as treasury bill demand fell short of government targets and the cedi recorded marginal depreciation against major trading currencies.
Across the board, the data points to an economy still navigating liquidity pressures and exchange rate volatility, while investor appetite—particularly in equities and fixed income trading—remains robust.
Treasury bill market records undersubscription
Activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market primary market showed a modest increase in investor demand for Treasury bills, rising from GH¢4,433.95 million in the previous week to GH¢4,488.36 million in the latest auction.
However, this was not sufficient to meet the government’s target of GH¢5,009.00 million, resulting in an undersubscription of 10.39%.
The shortfall reflects cautious investor sentiment, likely influenced by interest rate expectations and liquidity conditions in the market.
Despite the undersubscription, acceptance rates remained high across the yield curve.
About 99.74% of bids for the 91-day Treasury bill were accepted, alongside full acceptance of all bids for the 182-day instrument and 97.51% for the 364-day bill.
Interest rates showed marginal upward movement, signalling tightening conditions.
The 91-day bill held steady at 4.92%, while the 182-day bill edged up by 1 basis point to 6.97%.
The 364-day bill saw a sharper increase of 8 basis points to close at 10.20%.
Looking ahead, the government is seeking to raise GH¢4,349.00 million in the next auction, a figure that will test investor confidence in the short-term debt market.
Secondary market surges on strong trading volumes
While the primary market struggled to meet targets, the secondary market told a different story.
Trading volumes on the Ghana Fixed Income Market surged by an impressive 201.1% week-on-week to reach GH¢6.76 billion.
Treasury bills dominated trading activity, accounting for 43.19% of total volumes.
This was followed by Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bonds at 34.68%, highlighting continued investor interest in restructured government securities.
Sell-buy-back transactions made up 21.67% of trades, reflecting short-term liquidity management strategies among market participants.
Corporate bonds and both old and new Government of Ghana notes contributed marginally, underscoring the dominance of sovereign instruments in the fixed income space.
Cedi weakens against dollar and pound
On the currency front, the Ghana cedi recorded mixed performance against major international currencies, according to data from the Bank of Ghana.
The cedi depreciated by 0.86% against the US dollar to close at GH¢11.19, bringing its year-to-date depreciation to 6.61%. Against the British pound, the local currency weakened further by 1.40% to settle at GH¢15.20, with a year-to-date decline of 7.51%.
However, the cedi posted a marginal gain against the euro, appreciating by 1.04% to close at GH¢13.13.
Despite this weekly improvement, it still reflects a year-to-date depreciation of 6.52% against the European currency.
Open market indicative rates painted a slightly weaker picture, with the cedi closing at GH¢11.38 to the dollar, GH¢15.42 to the pound, and GH¢13.38 to the euro.
The mixed currency performance highlights ongoing pressures in the foreign exchange market, even as authorities continue efforts to stabilise the cedi.
Stock market extends strong rally
The equities market remained the standout performer, with the Ghana Stock Exchange extending its bullish run.
The GSE Composite Index closed the week at 15,130.52 points, delivering an impressive year-to-date return of 72.52%.
The rally continues to be driven by strong gains in financial and ICT stocks, reflecting improved investor confidence in key sectors of the economy.
Among the top gainers, ZEN rose by 12.66% to close at GH¢6.14, while CLYD advanced by 11.11% to GH¢1.60, bringing its year-to-date gain to an extraordinary 247.83%.
ALLGH climbed by 8.33% to GH¢7.80, UNIL gained 5.41% to GH¢30.00, and SIC increased by 5.02% to GH¢5.65, with a remarkable year-to-date return of 370.83%.
On the downside, losses were marginal. GLD slipped by 0.01% to GH¢497.01, EGH declined by 0.04% to GH¢48.87, GOIL fell by 0.13% to GH¢7.91, ACCESS dropped by 0.16% to GH¢30.60, and RBGH eased by 0.18% to GH¢5.57.
Despite the strong price performance, trading activity moderated. Volumes declined by 15.11% from 13.55 million shares to 11.51 million shares, while total value traded stood at approximately GH¢86.54 million.
