Government recorded a 21.51% under subscription in its latest Treasury bills auction, raising GH₵6.5 billion out of a targeted GH₵8.29 billion, according to data from the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM).
Investor demand for short-term government securities nevertheless strengthened, climbing from GH₵4.39 billion in the previous week to GH₵6.5 billion at the close of the auction.
On Friday, the government accepted 95.56%of bids for the 91-day bill, 99.37% for the 182-day bill, and 97.46% for the 364-day bill.
Yields showed a mixed trend, with the 91-day bill rising by 11 basis points to 10.53%, the 182-day bill inching up by 3 basis points to 12.44%, while the 364-day bill slipped marginally by 1 basis point to 12.96%.
Secondary market activity picks up
In the secondary market, trading volumes surged by 49.5% week-on-week to reach GH₵6.4 billion.
Market activity was dominated by the New Government of Ghana (GoG) Notes and Bonds, which accounted for 53.59% of trades. Bank of Ghana Bills contributed 23.88%, corporate bonds made up 9.98%, while Treasury bills represented 1.22% of volumes traded.
Sell-buy-back transactions accounted for 11.30%, with old GoG notes and bonds contributing a marginal 0.03%.
Cedi weakens against major currencies
The Ghana cedi slipped against major trading currencies in the week under review.
Against the US dollar, the local currency depreciated by 1.56% to close at GH₵12.15, although it still reflects a year-to-date appreciation of 20.99%.
It also fell by 1.67% against the British pound, ending the week at GH₵16.45, with a year-to-date gain of 11.83%.
The cedi weakened by 1.28% against the euro to trade at GH₵14.23, despite maintaining a year-to-date appreciation of 6.92%.
Indicative open market midrates showed the cedi trading at one Dollar to GH₵12.32, the British Pound GH₵16.75, and the Euro GH₵14.49, highlighting continuing pressures in the retail forex market.
Stocks rally on gains in financials and energy
On the Ghana Stock Exchange, the benchmark Composite Index rose by 1.35% to close at 7,269.40 points, lifting its year-to-date return to 48.70%.
The upward movement was driven by gains in MTN Ghana, NewGold, Total Petroleum Ghana, GCB Bank, Fan Milk, GOIL, CAL Bank, and AngloGold Ashanti Depository Shares, which outweighed losses in Access Bank, the only laggard of the week.
Notable performers included GCB Bank, which jumped 9.98% to close at GH₵12.12, representing a staggering 90.27% year-to-date gain.
Total Petroleum Ghana climbed 9.51% to GH₵35.00, reflecting a 166.77% rise since the start of the year, while NewGold advanced 8.95% to GH₵453.25.
MTN Ghana rose by 1.08% to GH₵3.74, while Fan Milk added 4.76% to GH₵4.62. CAL Bank increased by 1.96% to GH₵0.52, GOIL advanced 0.87% to GH₵2.33, and AngloGold Ashanti Depository Shares climbed 2.44% to GH₵0.42.
Access Bank edged lower by 0.01% to close at GH₵16.35, trimming its year-to-date gain to 48%.
Market outlook
Trading activity on the equities market slowed, with volumes down 45.17% from 17.08 million shares the previous week to 9.37 million shares.
The value of shares traded fell accordingly to approximately GH₵38.1 million.
Market analysts expect financial stocks and the ICT sector, particularly MTN Ghana, to remain pivotal to the index’s performance in the coming week as investor sentiment holds steady despite currency pressures and a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.
