NIR Increased 7.6% in October 2024

• Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) stood at US$5,595.55Mn at the end of October 2024, 7.6% higher than September 2023, according to the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ). The improvement in the NIR reflects a 7.5% (or US$393.76Mn) increase in total foreign assets, along with a 1.8% decline (or US$1.26Mn) in Foreign Liabilities.
• The rise in foreign assets was due to growth in Currency and Deposits to US$3,660.67Mn from US$3,582.62Mn, Securities (+19.4% or US$316.74Mn). However, this was slightly tempered by a 1.8% (or US$366.69K) decline in both Special Drawings Rights and IMF Reserve Position balance (or US$676.53K).
• In October, the BOJ intervened in the foreign exchange market four times, injecting a total of US$120Mn in an attempt to stabilise the Jamaican dollar. This represented a slight decline from August when there were four interventions totalling US$140Mn. Despite these interventions, NIR rose for the second consecutive month.
• Jamaica’s October 2024 NIR remains relatively high and equates to 28.2 weeks of goods & services imports (26.3 weeks at the end of September 2024). At this level, the NIR is more than double the international benchmark of 12 weeks of imports.

(Source: BOJ)