General News of Wednesday, 15 March 2000

Source: Panafrican News Agency

Cedi Sheds 184 Units In Two Weeks

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Ghanaian cedi lost 184 units in two weeks, opening Monday at the nominal rate of 3,868.59 to the US dollar, down from 3,683.86 early in the month.

Reports from Accra attribute the decline to excessive demand for hard currency on the local market.

Elsewhere, the CFA franc appears to have recovered from last week's losses, opening Tuesday at the nominal rate of 682.35 to the dollar, from 684 to the greenback on the same day last week.

In Dakar Tuesday, the currency exchanged at 666 (buying) and 696 (selling) to the dollar, from 669 (buying) and 699 (selling) one week ago.

The following are the latest average exchange rates of African currencies against the US dollar: [ST] Country Currency Current Rate Previous Rate Algeria Dinar 69.30 (67.47) Angola Kwanza 5.89 (5.91) Botswana Pula 4.81 (4.64) Burundi Franc 435.75 (405.69) Cape Verde Escudo 112.78 (100.00) CFA Zone * Franc 682.35 (684.00) Comoros Franc 508.60 (450.00) Congo (DRC) DRC Franc 9.00 (5.00) Djibouti Franc 177.00 (179.56) Egypt Pound 4.44 (3.41) Eritrea Nakfa 7.25 (7.30) Ethiopia Birr 8.13 (8.18) Gambia Dalasi 11.80 (10.90) Ghana Cedi 3,868.59 (3,683.86) Guinea Franc 1,664.45 (1,640.56) Kenya Shilling 73.69 (74.25) Lesotho Maloti 6.24 (6.07) Liberia Dollar 35.00 (40.00) Libya Dinar 0.30 (0.30) Madagascar Franc 6,574.05 (5,478.08) Malawi Kwacha 47.46 (47.00) Mauritania Ouguiya 226.38 (204.00) Mauritius Rupee 25.03 (24.05) Morocco Dirham 9.80 (9.69) Mozambique Metical 14.516.00 (13,900.00) Namibia Dollar 6.36 (6.19) Nigeria Naira 101.00 (99.00) Rwanda Franc 345.00 (313.89) S.Tome & P. Dobra 2,305.25 (2,390.00) Seychelles Rupee 5.10 (5.00) Sierra Leone Leone 2,016.21 (1,998.50) Somalia Shilling 2,604.40 (2,620.00) South Africa Rand 6.42 (6.48) Sudan Dinar 256.00 (220.00) Swaziland Lilangeni 6.38 (6.12) Tanzania Shilling 795.50 (826.00) Tunisia Dinar 1.15 (1.14) Uganda Shilling 1,500.75 (1,480.00) Zambia Kwacha 2,900.00 (2,890.00) Zimbabwe Dollar 38.43 (39.88) [ET] *CFA - Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.