Ghana's central bank targets an appreciation of 5 percent in its currency

Ghana's central bank targets an appreciation of 5 percent in its cedi currency this year, the bank's deputy head said on Tuesday.

Inflation is likely to remain below 10 percent at the end of 2011, Millison Narh told a conference. "We have a 5 percent (cedi) appreciation target for the rest of the year. We do not expect (deviation) of more than 2 percent plus or minus," he said.

"We are expecting that by the end of the year, we will still be recording single-digit inflation."

The Bank of Ghana surprised many analysts by shaving a further 50 basis points off its prime policy rate to bring it to 13 percent in May -- 550 basis points lower than its late 2009 level.

Ghana's annual inflation stood at 9.02 percent in April and the International Monetary Fund has warned the country of inflation risk. Reuters.

• Monetary unit: Cedi
• Main exports: Gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminium, manganese ore, diamonds
• GNI per capita: US $700 (World Bank, 2009)