S&P cuts Ghana ratings

S&P said it Ghana’s foreign- and local-currency sovereign ratings to CCC+/C from B-/B.

“The pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war have magnified Ghana's fiscal and external imbalances. Nonresident outflows from the domestic government bond markets, a lack of access to Eurobond markets, retail dollar purchases, dividend payments to foreign investors, and more expensive refined petroleum product imports have pushed up demand for foreign currency, leading to a drawdown on Ghana's limited stock of reserves since the fourth quarter of last year,” the agency said in a press release.

S&P noted that recent rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve have hurt the value of Ghana’s currency, which has depreciated 27% against the dollar since January. Last month, Ghana’s parliament approved a $750 million loan with a7.75% interest rate from Afreximbank.

The outlook is negative.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.