Former deputy Power minister John Jinapor has predicted a hike in prices of petroleum products in the country if the Cedi continues to depreciate against the dollar.

Currently, a dollar is to GHC4.60p and keeps rising. Analysts have blamed the development on market forces which government has no control over. Part of the blame has also been pushed to the insatiable taste of Ghanaians for imported products.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Monday, Mr. Jinapor said government should be exploring effective measures to arrest the fall of the local currency as Christmas beckons.

“We are likely to see some more pressure on the cedi especially now that the festive season is just around the corner. From what I am seeing, if the cedi keeps depreciating, we might see an increase in fuel prices. Clearly, we should be prepared for tough times looking at the way the cedi is depreciating,” he said.

Also contributing to the discussion, financial analyst Jerry Larbi said the Cedi is likely to stabilize if importers are done clearing their goods for the Christmas.

“We live in a very competitive world such that the overhead debt on production is so high and so our farmers have to compete with other countries that have more stable systems. I don’t see us crossing the GHC5 for a dollar mark. It won’t happen. The best we may see is GHC4.8. When many are done clearing their goods and start selling, the cedi is likely to stabilize”.

In April, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia said government has arrested the free fall of the cedi in its first hundred days in office.

“When we came in, it [cedi] was running, essentially we have arrested it [cedi], and the IGP has the keys, he’s locked it up, we want to make sure we pursue sound policies to keep the cedi stable, it has appreciated for this year.”