Durrant Pate/Contributor

The Government of Jamaica (GOJ) latest Treasury Bills ( T-bills) auctions have been oversubscribed amid an improvement in local money market liquidity.

The three tenor auctions, which were completed last week, saw the 91-day and 182-day T-bills commanding total bids of $1.72 billion and $2.03 billion, respectively, well over the offer size of $700 million. Similarly, the 273-day bill was also oversubscribed with a bid amount of $2.38 billion, which was 196.9% above the offer size of $800.00 million. 

The average yields amounted to 5.67769%, 5.68949% and 6.05167% for the 91-days, 182-days and 273-days, respectively for the three tenors. The next auction for GOJ T-bills is scheduled for Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026.

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) also conducted a 14-day repo auction last week, offering $3.0 billion in liquidity. Total bids received were $3.0 billion, giving a 1.0X bid-to-offer ratio. The weighted average yield settled at 5.57%, which is a 17 basis points (bps) decline compared with the prior auction’s average of 5.74%. 

The next auction for 14-day repos is scheduled for Monday, May 11, 2026.

Increase in money market liquidity

Money market Liquidity, as measured by the aggregated current balances held by Deposit-Taking Institutions (DTIs) at the BOJ improved. The total aggregate current balance at as last week was $42.5 billion, representing a 12.9% increase compared to the previous week J$37.6 billion.

Last week, the BOJ’s 30-day Certificate of Deposit (CD) auction was oversubscribed with total bids received amounting to J$32.39 billion for a total offer amount of $22.00 billion at a 1.47x bid-to-offer ratio. This represents a 21 bps increase from the previous week’s 1.26x ratio, as the offer size decreased by 37.1% or $13.00 billion relative to the previous week. 

The average yield, however, remained at 5.70%, the same as the prior week’s outturn. 

FX market operations

In the foreign exchange (FX) market, the Jamaican dollar depreciated by 0.5% against the USD, with the weighted average selling rate for US$1 increasing to J$158.93. The BOJ is set to intervene in the market next Thursday, May 21 and the following day May 22, with another B-FXITT Standard Sale Operation.

The amount to be offered will be announced on the day before each auction.