ACCRA (Reuters) - The Ghana cedi hit a three-month high against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, following the announcement yesterday of a 3-year, 320 million cedi bond open to foreign investors, traders said.

The local unit has gained 0.9 percent since the Bank of Ghana announced the April 27 bond auction, said Christopher Nettey from Stanbic Bank, who quoted the cedi-dollar at 1.4995/1.5020 at 1348GMT, from 1.5050/1.5075 at the open.

"We'll see a firm break of 1.49 by the close of today," Nettey said.

Jacob Brobbey from Barclays Ghana said the appreciation was caused by a scramble for dollars by foreign investors.

"This is a massive intra-day jump. Historically these offshore guys take 90 percent of the bonds," he said. "But a 53 million cedi bond is maturing on May 5. Some will just rollover their money so won't bring any more foreign currency in."

According to Stanbic Bank data, the cedi slumped to lifetime lows of 1.5840 on February 2, before reversing some of its losses on a bond issue later that month.

More assertive dollar sales by the central bank, renewed offshore interest in fixed income instruments, and lower corporate demand have supported the currency since then.