February 08,2018
Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) totaled US$3,203.69 million as at January 2018, reflecting a decrease of US$4.93 million relative to the US$3,208.29 million reported as at the end of December 2017 (see figure 1).
Changes in the NIR resulted from an increase in Foreign Assets of US$8.34 million to total US$3,789.51 million compared to the US$3,781.17 million reported for December 2017. ‘Securities’ contributed to most of the increase in Foreign Assets. ‘Securities’ as at January 2018 totaled US$326.24 million reflecting an increase of US$18.78 million compared to US$307.46 million booked as at December 2017.
‘Currency & Deposits’ amounted to US$3,185.07 million; US$16.73 million less than the US$3,201.80 million reported in December 2017. Foreign Liabilities for January 2018 amounted to US$586.15 million compared to the US$572.88 million reported for December 2017. Liabilities to the IMF accounted for 100% of total foreign liabilities, reflecting a US$13.27 million increase month over month from December 2017.
At its current value, the NIR is US$733.93 million more than its total of US$2,469.43 million as at the end of January 2017. The current reserve is able to support approximately 40.23 weeks of goods imports or 23.30 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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