$75M eases exchange woes

Trinidad and Tobago wants to keep U.S. currency flowing for energy firms.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) says it has injected US$75 million into the financial system to support the foreign exchange market following recent complaints of a shortage of the U.S. currency here.

The CBTT said that the injections this week, as with recent interventions, “was timed to support the foreign exchange market and to pre-empt any significant tightening in light of anticipated lower volumes of U.S. currency conversions by energy sector companies in August 2014.”

The Central Bank said it would “continue to monitor conditions in the domestic foreign exchange market and act proactively to ensure market order and stability.”

The CBTT said that so far this year it has sold US$940 million to authorized dealers, or equivalent to 25% of total supply to the foreign exchange market.

“The Bank will to continue to provide further support to the domestic foreign exchange market over the next few weeks,” the CBTT stated.

It said that as of the end of July, Trinidad and Tobago’s net official reserves stood at US$10.1 billion, representing in excess of 12 months of import cover.

  central bank, exchange, money, trinidad