TheCable

The Ghanaian cedi has become the worst performing currency in the world after it lost 45.1 percent of its value to the US dollar this year.

According to Bloomberg, the currency of the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer depreciated 3.3 percent on Monday to 11.2750 per dollar.

The media company said the cedi’s poor performance against the dollar was the worst among 148 currencies tracked by it.

With the development, the cedi has switched positions with the Sri Lankan rupee, which is now the second worst performer with a 44.7 percent drop to the greenback this year.

In July, Ghana started engaging with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout programme to restore macro-economic stability.

The economic woes and spiraling inflation in the West African country had forced hundreds of citizens to take to the streets to demonstrate against price hikes, a tax on electronic payments, and other levies.

Bloomberg said Ghana is hoping to receive up to $3 billion in loans for over three years under the IMF arrangement to spur its finances and support the balance of payments.

Apart from the Ghanaian cedi, other African currencies that have depreciated rapidly against the greenback in recent months include Nigeria’s naira and South Africa’s rand.