Ghana cedi drops to record low versus dollar

ACCRA Jan 20 (Reuters) - Ghana's cedi fell to a record low of 1.51 versus the dollar on Thursday as corporate demand for the greenback outpaced foreign inflows, dealers said.

"There has been activity in the commerce and import sectors that is making people demand the dollar so much," said Kwabena Yeboah from Access Bank.

The cedi opened on Thursday at 1.50 before eclipsing the former record low of 1.5085 at around midday.

It has been under heavy pressure for several weeks, having lost 0.6 percent in December on demand for imported goods for the holidays.

Traders expect the trend to continue for the rest of January as letters of credit from the festive season are seen coming due in the first quarter.

Anticipation of a 3-year bond issue had been moderating the cedi's losses somewhat, traders said, though the government has yet to schedule it.

Separately, Ghana's Finance Minister said this week the government was still making preparations to launch a second Eurobond originally due in 2010, stressing market conditions were not behind the delay.