Jamaica’s Net International Reserves Increased by 3.2% in December

• Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) stood at US$5,583.67Mn at the end of December 2024, 3.2% higher than in November 2024, according to the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ). The improvement in the NIR reflects a 2.9% (or US$157.36Mn) increase in total foreign assets, along with a 26.6% decline (or US$17.80Mn) in Foreign Liabilities.
• The rise in foreign assets was due to growth in Special Drawings Rights to US$249.21Mn from US$1.43Mn. However, this was slightly tempered by a decline in Securities by 0.6% (or US$12.76Mn), Currency and Deposits (-2.3% or US$77.40Mn) and IMF Reserve Position balance (-0.7% or US$26.71K). 
• There were no interventions by the BOJ in the foreign exchange market for December, in contrast to November when there were three interventions totalling US$130Mn.
• Compared to December 2023, the NIR increased by 17.3% (or $825.44Mn), up from $4,758.24Mn (23.9 weeks of imports).
• Jamaica’s December 2024 NIR remains relatively high and equates to 29.4 weeks of goods & services imports (28.5 weeks at the end of December 2024). At this level, the NIR is more than double the international benchmark of 12 weeks of imports.

(Source: BOJ)