The value of the Jamaican dollar climbed to yet a new record in trading Thursday. The Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) said the average rate for the US dollar across the market at the end of trading, was J$100.78, up J$0.31 cents from Wednesday. Some traders sold the currency for as much as J$105.40.
The Canadian dollar, which is also heading towards the J$100 to $1 mark, gained J$0.86 cents to now trade at J$99.34, while the pound sterling is costing J$157.76 , up J$0.73 cents.
In the meantime, Brian Wynter, Governor of the Bank of Jamaica, said the current depreciation in the value of the dollar was anticipated, and it was included in the inflation forecast for this year. He made the disclosure at a Jamaica House Briefing Thursday.
The Central Bank Governor refused to say whether the dollar could sell for up to J$110 dollars this year.
And, outgoing Senior Resident Representative for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Jamaica, Dr. Gene Leon, said he is unsure whether Jamaica's currency is still overvalued. He said, however, the possibility exists, if focus is not spent on growth prospects. He was a guest on TVJ's news programme, All Angles, Wednesday night.
Dr. Leon said, the IMF in its staff report on Jamaica last month, had indicated that the country's currency was overvalued and needed to depreciate further. He is encouraging Jamaicans to not focus on the depreciation of the dollar, but instead on earning more foreign exchange. He said this has been the history of Jamaica since the post-independence era, where it is not earning enough foreign exchange, relative to the amount of foreign exchange that it spends.
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