No TT foreign exchange shortage

Addressing a news conference at the Eric Williams Financial Com-plex, Williams disclosed that the IMF recently conducted an analysis of TT’s foreign exchange rate and concluded that it remains "very competitive" and very stable.

Deputy Central Bank Governor Dr Shelton Nicholls agreed with Williams adding that a sure sign of an unstable foreign exchange rate would have been a hue and cry by local manufacturers.

Nicholls said this has not happened to date.

At the conference, which was held to outline the findings of the Central Bank’s latest monetary report, Williams noted that no case could be made out for a depreciation of the TT dollar, and agencies like the IMF often tend to argue for an appreciation of currencies in economies such as TT’s during periods of financial wealth.

The governor also said through "scheduled interventions" and cooperation with local commercial banks, the Central Bank is ensuring that sales of foreign exchange are "more predictable."

He added that those interventions occur twice a month and reiterated that there is no shortage of foreign exchange at this time.

Williams also said the Central Bank would take steps to ensure that commercial banks attend to the demands for small transactions from retail customers, and the demand for foreign exchange for trade would take preference over capital market transactions.