The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) pumped US$90 million into the foreign exchange market last week (February 3 – 8) through its B-FXITT platform, after selling US$30 million for the third time on Friday.

The move appears to be aimed at tempering the volatility of the US dollar price, which has fluctuated between the weighted average weight of less than $158 and above. So far this month, the highest value for the US dollar has been $160.95, after climbing to $179.51 on January 8.

On Friday, the BOJ received 42 eligible bids totalling US$68.7 million or 129 per cent more than the offer. Fulfilling only 19 bids, the central bank reached a settlement price of $156.90.

The highest bid price was $157.37 for US$400,000 and the lowest was for US$2 million at 156.90.

According to the rules of the auction, authorised cambios and foreign exchange dealers can bid at a minimum US$100,000 with increments of US$25,000 should they want to purchase more. The final allocations for US dollar sales on Friday were settled in Monday, February 10.

A BOJ notice showed the net international reserves (NIR) moving down from US$5.58 billion at the end of December 2024 to US$5.5 billion at the end of January. At present, the NIR can cover imports of up to 44 weeks, a negligible change compared to the 2024 year end.