Ghana’s financial markets ended the week on a mixed note, as strong demand for government Treasury bills and sustained gains on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) were tempered by renewed pressure on the cedi.
Investor appetite for short-term government securities strengthened considerably, with the latest Treasury bill auction attracting bids far above the government’s target. Activity on the secondary fixed-income market also increased, while the GSE Composite Index extended its impressive rally.
The foreign exchange market, however, moved in the opposite direction, with the cedi weakening against the US dollar, British pound and euro.
T-Bill Auction Attracts GH¢11.64bn
Demand for government Treasury bills remained strong during the week, with investors submitting bids worth GH¢11.64 billion, up from GH¢10.51 billion at the previous auction.
The government had targeted GH¢6.217 billion, meaning total demand exceeded the target by approximately 87.18%.
Investor interest was recorded across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day instruments, although the government did not accept all bids submitted.
About 63.82% of bids received for the 91-day bill were accepted, compared with 62.38% for the 182-day instrument and 97.34% for the 364-day bill. Yields on the two shorter-term securities declined.
The yield on the 91-day Treasury bill fell by 13 basis points to 5.63%, while the 182-day bill declined by 11 basis points to 7.53%.
The 364-day bill moved marginally higher, gaining one basis point to settle at 12.99%.
For the next auction, the government is targeting GH¢5.993 billion, lower than the GH¢6.217 billion target for the latest exercise.
Fixed-Income Trading Jumps 32.6%
Trading activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) also strengthened, with total volumes rising 32.6% to GH¢9.01 billion during the week.
Bonds issued under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) continued to dominate the secondary market, accounting for 62.92% of total transactions.
Treasury bills represented 35.05% of trading activity, while sell-buy-back transactions contributed 1.97%.
Corporate bonds accounted for just 0.05%, with new Government of Ghana notes representing the remaining 0.01%.
The figures underline the continued dominance of government securities, particularly restructured bonds, in Ghana’s secondary fixed-income market.
Cedi Weakens Against Major Currencies
While government securities attracted stronger investor interest, the cedi struggled on the foreign exchange market.
The local currency depreciated by 0.61% against the US dollar, ending the period at GH¢11.76 to the dollar based on Bank of Ghana interbank mid-rates.
That pushed its year-to-date depreciation against the dollar to 11.15%.
The cedi also weakened by 0.86% against the British pound to close at GH¢15.88, taking its year-to-date loss against sterling to 12.46%.
Against the euro, the local currency declined by 1.03% to GH¢13.60, representing a year-to-date depreciation of 9.77%.
Indicative open-market mid-rates placed the dollar at GH¢11.75, the pound at GH¢15.80 and the euro at GH¢13.51.
The broad depreciation during the week highlighted persistent foreign exchange pressures despite stronger activity in other areas of the financial market.
GSE Return Climbs to 73.17%
The equities market maintained its strong momentum, with the GSE Composite Index closing at 15,187.47 points.
That placed its year-to-date return at an impressive 73.17%, reinforcing the strong performance of Ghanaian equities so far in 2026.
Gains in selected stocks, including HORDS, DASPHARMA, ZEN, SCB Preference Shares, CPC and CLYD, helped push the benchmark index higher.
HORDS led the gainers, climbing 41.03% to GH¢0.55. The stock has now appreciated by 450% since the beginning of the year.
DASPHARMA gained 18.18% to close at GH¢0.52, bringing its year-to-date return to 36.84%.
ZEN advanced 10% to GH¢11.00 and has now gained 120% since the start of the year.
SCB Preference Shares also appreciated by 10% to GH¢0.99, while CPC increased 5.88% to GH¢0.18. CPC has returned 260% year-to-date.
Some Stocks Record Losses
Despite the overall strength of the market, some listed companies ended the week marginally lower.
ACCESS declined by 0.03% to GH¢31.89 but remained 96.85% higher since the beginning of the year.
EGL slipped 0.10% to GH¢10.03, despite maintaining a year-to-date return of 188.22%.
GCB fell 0.23% to GH¢43.10, while GGBL declined 0.25% to GH¢11.88.
TOTAL recorded a 0.28% decline to GH¢39.83 and remained down 1.17% year-to-date.
Trading Volumes Drop 56.5%
Despite the strong performance of the benchmark index, investor trading activity declined sharply.
The number of shares traded fell 56.53%, dropping from 29.73 million shares in the previous week to 12.92 million shares.
The value of shares traded nevertheless reached approximately GH¢58.20 million.
The combination of a rising index and significantly lower trading volumes indicates that much of the market’s advance was driven by price increases in selected stocks rather than a broad increase in trading across the exchange.
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Financial stocks and companies within the information and communications technology sector are expected to remain important to the direction of the market in the coming week.
Overall, the week presented contrasting signals across Ghana’s financial markets. Strong investor demand pushed the Treasury bill auction well above target, secondary fixed-income trading expanded and the stock market extended its powerful 2026 rally.
The cedi, however, remained a weak spot, losing ground against all three major international currencies and highlighting the continuing foreign exchange pressures facing the domestic economy.
Source: Isaac Kofi Dzokpo /capitalnewsonline.com
