Investor appetite for government securities strengthened sharply while the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) extended its impressive rally during the week ending July 17, 2026, even as the cedi recorded fresh losses against the major trading currencies.
The latest market data showed a surge in Treasury bill subscriptions, a moderation in secondary fixed-income trading activity, continued bullish performance on the equities market and a marginal depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar, British pound and euro.
Treasury bill demand surges
The Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) recorded a sharp increase in investor demand for Treasury bills during the latest primary market auction.
Subscriptions rose from GH¢10.03 billion in the previous week to GH¢12.70 billion, significantly exceeding government’s target of GH¢7.36 billion.
The auction was 72.51 per cent oversubscribed, reflecting strong investor confidence in short-term government securities.
The government accepted 86.55 per cent of bids submitted for the 91-day Treasury bill, 66.93 per cent of bids for the 182-day bill, and 76.42 per cent of bids for the 364-day bill.
Yields were mixed across the three tenors.
The interest rate on the 91-day Treasury bill declined by eight basis points to 5.78 per cent, while the 182-day bill fell by 11 basis points to 7.68 per cent.
However, the 364-day Treasury bill recorded a marginal increase of one basis point to 13.00 per cent.
Government is targeting GH¢9.49 billion in the next Treasury bill auction.
Secondary market activity slows
Despite the strong primary market performance, trading activity on the secondary fixed-income market declined during the review period.
Total trading volumes on the Ghana Fixed Income Market fell by 14.2 per cent week-on-week to GH¢6.27 billion.
Treasury bills remained the dominant instrument, accounting for 66.09 per cent of total transactions.
Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bonds represented 28.73 per cent, while Sell-Buy-Back transactions accounted for 4.80 per cent.
Corporate bonds contributed 0.34 per cent of total market activity, with old Government of Ghana notes making up the remaining 0.04 per cent.
Cedi weakens against major currencies
The Ghana cedi continued to lose ground against the country’s major trading currencies during the week.
According to the Bank of Ghana’s interbank mid-rates, the local currency depreciated by 0.61 per cent against the US dollar to close at GH¢11.55 to the dollar.
The cedi’s year-to-date depreciation against the dollar now stands at 9.52 per cent.
Against the British pound, the cedi weakened by 0.79 per cent to close the week at GH¢15.53, representing a year-to-date depreciation of 9.47 per cent.
The local currency also depreciated by 0.61 per cent against the euro to settle at GH¢13.21, bringing its cumulative year-to-date decline against the European currency to 7.11 per cent.
Indicative open market rates placed the cedi at GH¢11.69 to the US dollar, GH¢15.75 to the British pound and GH¢13.35 to the euro.
Stock market rally continues
The Ghana Stock Exchange maintained its bullish momentum, with the benchmark GSE Composite Index closing the week at 14,805.95 points, translating into an impressive 68.82 per cent year-to-date return.
The market’s performance was driven by gains in the share prices of IIL, HORDS, CLYD, SCB Pref, EGH, KASA, RBGH, CAL, MTN Ghana, GCB, GLD and BOPP.
Leading the gainers was IIL, whose share price surged 50.00 per cent to close at GH¢0.42, extending its year-to-date gain to an extraordinary 740.00 per cent.
HORDS advanced 28.57 per cent to GH¢0.18, bringing its year-to-date return to 80.00 per cent.
CLYD climbed 14.61 per cent to close at GH¢4.00, with its year-to-date gain reaching 769.57 per cent.
SCB Pref gained 10.00 per cent to close at GH¢0.99, while EGH appreciated 8.82 per cent to end the week at GH¢37.00, representing a year-to-date return of 48.00 per cent.
Decliners
On the losing side, GGBL shed 0.25 per cent to close at GH¢11.95, although it remains up 81.06 per cent year-to-date.
TOTAL declined 0.65 per cent to GH¢40.00, leaving its year-to-date return at negative 0.74 per cent.
SCB lost 1.24 per cent to close at GH¢70.02, despite maintaining a year-to-date gain of 139.63 per cent.
ETI recorded the steepest decline among the major losers, falling 5.05 per cent to GH¢2.07, although it has still appreciated 168.83 per cent since the beginning of the year.
Trading activity rises
Overall market activity on the equities market strengthened during the week.
Trading volumes increased by 46.55 per cent, rising from 20.63 million shares in the previous week to 30.24 million shares.
The total value of shares traded reached approximately GH¢370.67 million.
Tesah Capital Market analysts expect financial stocks and companies within the information and communications technology (ICT) sector to continue driving the performance of the Ghana Stock Exchange in the coming week.
