August 10, 2022

BOJ has reported that Jamaica’s Net International Reserves as at July 31, 2022 stood at US$3,660.55 million, reflecting a decrease of US$144.20 million when compared to the US$3,804.75 million reported at the end of June 2022.

Foreign Assets totalled US$4,243.37 million, US$146.54 million less than the US$4,389.91 million reported in June 2022. ‘Currency & Deposits’ held by the BOJ as at July 31, 2022 totalled US$3,725.11 million, reflecting a decrease of US$161.12 million compared to the US$3,886.23 million reported in June 2022.

‘Securities’ were valued at US$327.25 million; US$11.40 million more than the US$315.85 million reported at the end of June 2022. The country’s ‘Special Drawing Rights & IMF Reserve Position’ rose marginally to US$191.01 million from the US$187.84 million reported last month. Liabilities to the IMF were reduced by US$2.35 million to US$582.82 million against the US$585.17 million reported at the end of June 2022.

At its current value, the nation’s international reserve is $301 million, or 9% more than the $3,359.55 million held by the BOJ on July 31, 2021. The current NIR supports approximately 34.90 weeks of goods imports and 23.67 weeks of goods and services imports.

According to the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) the relatively healthy NIR level sends a positive signal about the country’s ability to respond to economic shocks. However, in a press release, the BOJ mentioned, ‘although the COVID-19 cases have declined and the labour market has shown signs of improvement, the uncertainty surrounding the virus is still high. Global markets have also been hampered by the geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine which has exacerbated the supply bottleneck and pushed many prices higher’. With these developments, the BOJ says it anticipates that foreign exchange flows could be lighter in the short term, which could put a strain on Jamaica’s Net International Reserves.

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