Durrant Pate/Contributor

The money market in Jamaica remains moderately liquid, particularly as it relates to the local and American currencies.

As at March 1, 2023, a total of J$23.8 billion was in circulation, as represented by the Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ’s) aggregated current balances, down from J$32.8 billion on February 23, 2023. 

Broker demand for JMD remained moderately liquid for both short-term and long-term placements while in the broker market demand for USD remained high, particularly for longer-tenured funds. 

Demand for short-term instruments remained high with investors continuing to oversubscribe to the BOJ auction. The average yield from the BOJ’s 30-day competitive price auction decreased to 10.6 per cent versus 10.77 per cent in the prior week. 

Bids received totalled J$42.2 billion relative to the offer size of J$26.5 billion. This implied a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.59, a significant increase relative to the 1.03 ratio in the prior week. 

The highest bid rate for full allocation last week was 10.90 per cent, down from 11.99 per cent in the prior week. In the FX market, the Jamaican dollar appreciated week over week by 0.28 per cent, moving from a selling rate of J$157.02, to J$156.58 on March 1. 

This was due to the residual supply effect of the BOJ’s US$70 million intervention from the prior week.