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Ghana�s central bank is printing money to help finance the government�s budget deficit, threatening to fuel inflation and weaken a currency that�s already the worst performer in Africa this year. The first-quarter budget deficit of 2.1 percent of gross domestic product �was financed by the central bank, which provided funding equivalent to 10 percent of government revenue,� Carmen Altenkirch, an analyst at Fitch in London, said in an e-mailed statement today. Investor concern that Ghana�s government will struggle to rein in spending has contributed to a 23 percent slump in the cedi against the dollar this year. That�s pushed up the inflation rate to 14.7 percent in April. �Printing money to finance the deficit will aggravate already high inflation and contribute to further cedi weakness,� Altenkirch said. Calls to Ghana�s central bank Governor Kofi Wampah didn�t connect and Grace Akrofi, head of research, wasn�t immediately available when contacted by Bloomberg News for comment. Fitch, which has a negative outlook on Ghana�s B rating, said it expects the budget deficit to exceed 10 percent of gross domestic product for a third consecutive year, in line with forecasts by Moody�s Investors Service. Debt will probably reach 61 percent of GDP by the end of the year, Altenkirch said. The cedi dropped 1.3 percent against the dollar to 3.075 as of 1:47 p.m. in Accra. Yields on Ghana�s debut Eurobond, a 10-year note sold in 2007, rose 1 basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 6.24 percent. Ghana�s plan to sell a new Eurobond this year �might ease immediate external financing pressures, but the cost would likely be high,� Fitch said. �Attracting dollars to fund the current account and budget deficits looks increasingly challenging.� Fitch downgraded Ghana�s rating to five levels below investment grade in October. The next scheduled rate review is on Sept. 26, it said.