KEY HEADLINES & INSIGHTS

Africa’s natural gas consumption is projected to rise by four per cent in 2025, driven by industrialisation, power sector demand, and expanding LNG infrastructure in key markets like South Africa, according to a recent report by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

SIC Insurance Company emerged as the top performer with a remarkable 10% increase in value, showcasing strong investor confidence, while MTNGH faced a decline of 2.28%, reflecting potential challenges in its market position.

Investor caution gripped the Ghana Fixed Income Market last week, as trading volumes plunged by over 34%—signaling a potential shift in sentiment despite Treasury bills maintaining a firm grip on market activity.

Ghana Gold Coin Pricing Update: 1 oz Now Selling at GH₵ 53,294.75 with 0.50 oz at GH₵27,061.19 and 0.25 oz at GH₵ 13,975.84 as of 17thApril2025. (Bank of Ghana, 2025)

PRIMARY DEBT MARKET ISSUANCE WEEK

Yields on Government of Ghana (GoG) treasury bills declined marginally across all tenors in the past week. The 91-day bill edged down by 0.06 basis points to 15.4522%, signaling stability in short-term borrowing costs. Meanwhile, the 182-day and 364-day bills recorded slight declines of 3.13 and 3.01 basis points respectively, closing at 16.1836% and 18.6206%. This downward movement may reflect improved investor confidence or moderate liquidity conditions in the money market.

Source(s): Bank of Ghana

GHANA FIXED INCOME MARKET VOLUME TRADED

The Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) recorded a total trading volume of GH₵2.72 billion at the week's close, reflecting a sharp decline from the GH₵4.14 billion reported in the previous week. The total number of transactions recorded was 5,724, with Treasury bills dominating the market and accounting for 98.18% of the trades. Meanwhile, New Government of Ghana (GoG) Notes and Bonds contributed 1.31% to the total trading activity.

Trading activity for the week beginning April 14 opened on a strong note, with total market turnover reaching GH₵1,216.68 million. The performance was largely underpinned by sustained investor appetite for Treasury Bills and recently issued Government of Ghana (GoG) Notes and Bonds, indicating heightened interest in the short- to medium-term segment of the yield curve. Liquidity levels dipped on April 15 to GH₵514.34 million and further declined on April 16 to GH₵420.23 million, buoyed by decline in demand for Treasury securities. Market momentum rebounded, compare to previous day to reach GH₵572.29 million on April 17.

Week's Yield Curve

EQUITY MARKET

This week, trading on the local stock exchange saw a bearish performance in trading activity, with total share volume declining by 37.73% to 1,954,109 shares, compared to last week's 3,138,322 shares. The total traded value decreased by 73.38%, reaching GH₵6.09 million, compared to the previous week’s GH₵22.88 million, indicating lower-value transactions. Market capitalization experienced a marginal decline, closing at GH₵135.26 billion, from last week's value of GH₵ GH₵135.63 billion.

Regarding market indices, the GSE Composite Index (GSE-CI) closed at 6,042.29, showing a 0.96% week-on-week loss, a 2.82% monthly loss, but a substantial year-to-date gain of 23.60%.

Moreover, the GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE-FSI) also increased to 3,084.57 points, making it a weekly gain of 0.72%, a monthly gain of 0.83%, and a year-to-date gain of 29.56%.

Week's Equities Top Gainers & Laggards

EQUITY MARKET MOST TRADED STOCKS

Source(s): Ghana Stock Exchange

TOP PERFORMING AFRICAN STOCK INDICES YEAR-TO-DATE

Source(s): African Financials

COMMODITY MARKET

This week, the commodities market saw a mixed performance, driven by notable price fluctuations. Gold prices surged from $3,222.20 to $3,406.2 per troy ounce week-on-week (w/w). The precious metal posted a 2.95% weekly gain.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil futures posted a 2.50% weekly loss, dropping from $64.76 to $66.26 per barrel. However, OPEC+ is still set to raise output by 411 thousand barrels per day in May, though some of that may be offset by cuts from countries exceeding their quotas.

Cocoa futures marginally increased their value to $8,810 per ton compared to last week’s $8,512, after volatility during the week. Latest data showed North American cocoa grindings fell 2.5% y/y to 110,278 MT, less than expectations of a 5% drop. Europe’s Q1 grind dropped 3.7%, and Asia’s fell 3.4%, both smaller than the anticipated 5–7% decrease.

Source(s): Yahoo Finance, Trading Economics

CURRENCY MARKET

Exchange rates exhibited a mixed trend compared to the previous week. The USD/GHS marginally declined from 15.52 to 15.46. Similarly, the EUR/GHS declined in value to 17.57 from 17.58. However, the GBP/GHS marginally inched to 20.49 from 20.25.

Source(s): Bank of Ghana

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this weekly update on the financial markets is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, investment or other professional advice. The data are derived from internal and external sources that FFC Research finds reliable. FFC Research assumes no responsibility or liability for any actions taken based on the information contained in this report.

Research Analyst - Cedric Asante | Email: cedric.asante@firstfinancecompany.com