{
  "id": 12522130,
  "title": "Cedi was worst African currency in quarter 2, 2026 – World Bank",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/cedi-was-worst-african-currency-in-quarter-2-2026-world-bank-12522130",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-07T01:55:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Joy Business",
    "slug": "joy-business",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/cedi-was-worst-african-currency-in-quarter-2-2026-world-bank/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Ghana cedi emerged as the weakest African currency in the second quarter of 2026, declining nearly 10% against the US dollar, according to the World Bank's October 2026 Africa Economic Update. Lesotho's loti, Namibia's dollar, South Africa's rand and Swaziland's lilangeni followed, each depreciating by over 6%. The conflict in the Middle East initially caused broad-based currency weakness across Africa, with seven out of 22 monitored countries seeing depreciations exceeding 5% by the end of the quarter. By August, however, the pressure had eased, and only 10 currencies remained weaker than their end-February levels. The currency depreciation was influenced by rising oil and energy prices, which increased import bills and led to a flight to safety in global financial markets. Supply disruptions in the Middle East also drove up the cost of agricultural inputs, exacerbating inflation. The cedi's year-to-date depreciation reached 10.04% by the end of the second quarter of 2026, weakening by 1.39% in the interbank market to GH¢11.62 against the US dollar.",
  "summary": "According to the World Bank, the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East initially exerted broad-based pressure on African currencies.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Cedi was worst African currency in quarter 2, 2026 – World Bank",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/cedi-was-worst-african-currency-in-quarter-2-2026-world-bank",
        "published": "2026-10-07T01:55:35.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}