Durrant Pate/Contributor

There was a modest increase in funds competing in Jamaica’s money market last week.

A total of J$14.8 billion was in the local money market, as represented by the Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ’s) aggregated current balances. The aggregated closing current account balance increased by J$2.70 billion from J$12.1 billion week over week.

The average yield from the BOJ’s competitive price auction decreased to 9.02 per cent versus 10.35 per cent in the prior week. The auction was oversubscribed with bids received totaling J$42.2 billion relative to the offer size of J$20 billion.

Bid results

The bid-cover ratio increased to 2.11 relative to a ratio of 1.74 in the prior week. The highest bid rate for full allocation was 9.49 per cent, which is a decrease from 11.49 per cent in the prior week. The latest auction was yesterday when the BOJ Certificate of Deposit went on offer.

Furthermore, the GOJ entered the market, reopening of three of its Benchmark Investment Notes to raise a total of J$5 billion across its 2031, 2037 and 2050 fixed-rate instruments. With bids totalling J$8.57 billion relative to an offer size of J$3B, the 2031 auction was oversubscribed.

The highest bid rate accepted for full allocation was 8.34 per cent, which resulted in an average auction yield of 8.20 per cent. The 2037 auction was also oversubscribed, with bids received amounting to J$5.5 billion relative to an offer size of J$1 billion.

The average yield from the auction was 8.74 per cent, with the highest bid rate for full allocation being 8.80 per cent. Lastly, the 2050 auction was oversubscribed with bids received totalling J$4.4 million for an offer size of J$1 billion. The average yield from the auction was 9.99 per cent, with the highest bid rate for full allocation being 10.24 per cent.