The cedi emerged as the worst-performing currency in Africa in the second quarter of 2026, shedding close to 10% of its value from March to June.
This is captured in the World Bank’s Africa Economic Update for October 2026, which assessed currency movements after tensions escalated in the Middle East.
According to the report, the cedi posted the deepest peak decline among all currencies reviewed in its survey. It was trailed by the currencies of Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini, which each lost about 7% at their lowest point.
The Seychelles rupee also faced strong headwinds, dropping by nearly 7%, while the Congolese franc and Ugandan shilling weakened by around 6% and 5% respectively at their weakest moments.
Currencies of Botswana, Zambia and Mauritius, among others, saw relatively milder pullbacks, with their worst declines falling between 3% and 5%.
The Bretton Woods institution said the strain on exchange rates was widespread across the continent.
It noted that most countries with available daily forex data saw their currencies slip in Q2 2026 compared to end-February levels, before the Middle East crisis deepened.
In seven out of 22 countries tracked outside the CFA zone, the peak drop crossed 5%, including in Ghana, DR Congo, Seychelles and South Africa.
The Bank linked the pressure to the surge in crude oil and energy costs triggered by the Middle East conflict.
Rising energy prices pushed up import costs, especially for countries that are net importers of fuel, driving up demand for dollars, straining external reserves and weighing heavily on local currencies.
The report further cited growing global uncertainty, which sparked a rush to safe-haven assets and led investors to pull funds out of emerging and frontier markets.
For nations carrying heavy external debt, the weaker currencies also meant higher costs in local terms to repay dollar-denominated loans, worsening fiscal stress.
Cedi Bounces Back Slightly by AugustEven though it recorded the biggest slide between March and June, the cedi regained some strength by August.
Data in Figure 1.24 indicates that while the cedi was still down compared to its end-February position as of end-August, the extent of the depreciation had moderated significantly from its peak.
The World Bank observed that forex pressures across Africa had largely subsided by late August, with only 10 currencies still trading weaker than their February levels.
The impact, however, was uneven across Sub-Saharan Africa. The report explained that economies that rely heavily on energy imports, have thin reserve buffers and face high debt repayments were hit hardest.
In contrast, commodity exporters showed more resilience. South Africa, for example, benefited from firm demand for gold and platinum, which boosted forex inflows despite global risk-off sentiment.
Similarly, oil producers like Angola and Nigeria gained from elevated crude prices, which lifted export earnings and helped stabilise their currencies.
Overall, the World Bank’s review places Ghana’s cedi at the top of the list for the sharpest currency fall during the March-June period, before paring part of those losses by August.
