BANK of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor Richard Byles is seeking to calm fears about the recent slide in the Jamaican dollar, highlighting that the depreciation so far this year is much slower than the comparative period last year.
Pointing out that as at February 16, the exchange rate was J$157.42 to US$1, Byles explained that this represents an annual point-to-point depreciation of 4.0 per cent.
Since the beginning of 2022, the exchange rate has depreciated by 1.5 per cent, which the BOJ governor trumpeted is significantly slower than the 6.1 per cent for the similar period in 2021. Addressing the bank’s quarterly news briefing on Monday, the BOJ governor reported that, “the deceleration in the pace of depreciation versus last year reflects the actions taken by the bank in response to the higher than targeted inflation.“
He underscored that the BOJ has been active in the market to defend the currency, noting that “specifically, since the beginning of the year, the bank sold US$301.9 million to the market via B-FXITT, compared to US$88.7 million for the corresponding period of 2020. In addition, Bank of Jamaica sold US$115.3 million directly to the energy sector.”
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