Bank of Jamaica
The Bank of Jamaica is warning that the country's external accounts are likely to weaken in the near term, as imports rise and exports continue to decline.
The central bank says the trade deficit, which stood at about US$3.5 billion during the first seven months of the year, is expected to widen further. This has been attributed to increased imports of food, raw materials, capital goods, fuel and transport equipment, alongside falling merchandise exports.
The Bank of Jamaica notes that the wider trade gap will also translate into a larger current account deficit, driven by weaker-than-expected tourism and business process outsourcing earnings, as well as flat remittance inflows.
However, the central bank says Jamaica is expected to have sufficient foreign exchange reserves to cover the shortfall, supported by disaster risk financing and loan inflows from multilateral agencies.
comments powered by Disqus
All feeds
