Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) totaled US$3,208.29 million as at December 2017, reflecting an increase of US$92.07 million relative to the US$3,116.22 million reported as at the end of November 2017 (see figure 1).
Changes in the NIR resulted from an increase in Foreign Assets of US$95.57 million to total US$3,781.17 million compared to the US$3,685.59 million reported for November 2017. ‘Currency & Deposits’ contributed the most to the growth in Foreign Assets. This as ‘Currency & Deposits’ as at December 2017 totaled US$3,201.08 million reflecting an increase of US$86.76 million compared to US$3,115.05 million booked as at November 2017.
Securities amounted to US$307.46 million; US$7.15 million more than the US$300.31 million reported in November 2017. Foreign Liabilities for December 2017 amounted to US$572.88 million compared to the US$569.38 million reported for November 2017. Liabilities to the IMF accounted for 100% of total foreign liabilities, reflecting a US$3.50 million increase month over month from November 2017.
At its current value, the NIR is US$488.90 million more than its total of US$2,719.37 million as at the end of November 2016. The current reserve is able to support approximately 40.14 weeks of goods imports or 23.25 weeks of goods and services imports.
Figure 1
Figure 2
The country surpassed the benchmark of US$2.54 billion outlined by the International Monetary Fund in the 14th Review and Adjusted Agreement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). Jamaica and the IMF have entered into a New Agreement to support growth and create jobs with the international body citing, “Jamaica has made good progress under the previous IMF – support program.” As such the entity has approved a new US$1.64 billion loan for the country. According to the IMF the loan is, “despite the toll of weather swings on growth, Jamaica’s unemployment rate is at 8-year low, with record high employment levels. Inflation is modest, and expectations are anchored in the medium-term target range of 4-6%. Non-borrowed net international reserves remain above the program target, supported by robust tourism inflows and a moderate current account deficit.” As such the Net International Reserve (NIR) target outlined as per the new agreement for the 2017/18 fiscal year is US$3.28 billion (see figure 2 above).
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