The Jamaican dollar last week depreciated by 1.69 per cent relative to the US dollar, resulting in the greenback moving from a selling rate of J$151.58 on October 15 to J$154.19 on October 22.

This elevation in the Jamaican exchange rate even as the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) supplied US$90 million to the market  and an upward movement in net remittance.

However, the demand for the American dollar continued to outweigh the supply, which led to the week over week depreciation.

According to the BOJ, August 2021 Remittances Bulletin, net remittance inflows of US$1397.3 million increased by 18.7 per cent or US$219.9 million relative to the previous corresponding period.

There were injections of liquidity to the US dollar money market arising from intermittent boosts of BOJ Intervention Sales totaling US$90 million in the prior week, as the BOJ possesses adequate levels of Net International Reserves to support the market.

Despite the foregoing, the American dollar money market rates are expected to remain elevated as US dollar demand is expected to outweigh its supply.

Broker market demand for US dollar remains at 30-days and longer-tenured funds, with some brokers offering as high as 4.0 per cent to clients.