Wednesday, 26th June 2013 | The foreign exchange market was characterised mainly by sharp changes in the highest and lowest buying and selling rates than for changes in the average rates for buying and selling of foreign currencies on Wednesday.

Traders hiked the minimum selling rate for the US dollar by $16.17 to $98.50 on the day when they bought at 50 cents more or at $102 from the public than they did on Tuesday. The Canadian dollar was traded at $1.40 less at $96.80 at the high end and 50 cents less on the lowest rates when they bought and sold for 12 cents more or at $99.62 and $1.10 more on at the lowest rate which came in at $92.40. For the Pound sterling buying was 30 cents less for the highest rate of $156.70 and $6.11 more at the lowest buying rate while the selling rates slipped by $2.08 on the highest of $159.22 and the lowest which was $146.20 was lower by $4.55 than on Tuesday.

Total buying amounted to the equivalent of US$26.85 million and selling the equivalent of US$30.57 million.

The average rates for the US dollar inched down by 9 cents on the buy side and moved up two cent for sales with the selling rate closing at $101.31. That for the Canadian dollar fell 29 cents for the buying rate and was up 33 cents for the average sell rate which moved to $96.74.  The rate for the Pound fell 56 for the buying rate to close at $153.98 and was down 12 cents on the selling rate, to end at $155.49.

Tuesday, 25 June 2013 | Today was a big trading day in the foreign exchange market as buying amounted to the equivalent of US$39.8 million, a little less than the amount US$40.65 million purchased on  Monday. Selling was the equivalent of US$39.5 million up from yesterday’s $32.7 million sold.

The average rates for the US dollar inched up 4 cents on the buy side and one cent for sales with the selling rate closing at $101.29. The Canadian dollar climbed $1.28 for the buying rate and was off 23 cents for the selling rate, taking the average sell rate to $96.65.  The rate for the Pound rose $1.68 for the buying rate to close at $154.55 and was up 48 cents on the selling rate to end at $155.61.

The highest buying and selling rates fell for the US dollar while the buying rates for the Canadian climbed moderately, but the highest and lowest were down by $1 and $1.55 respectively. The highest buy rate for the pound dropped $2.10. There was no change for the lowest buying rate but the selling rates were up moderately.

Monday, 24th June 2013 | All rates fell across the board on Monday in the foreign exchange market as it was on Friday as buying out numbered selling. Buying amounted to US$40.65 million US dollar equivalent and selling amounted to US$32.7 million.

The average rates for the US dollar fell 13 cents off both the buying and selling with the selling rate closing at $101.28. The Canadian dollar fell by $1.77 for the buy rate and 51 cents for the selling rate, taking the average sell rate to $96.88.  The pound suffered a $2.04 decline of the buying rate to close at $152.87 and dropped 91 cents on the selling rate to end at $155.13, which increased by 38 cents to reach $154.91. The selling rate for the pound fell $1.27 to close at $156.04. The US dollar slipped marginally on both the buy and sell sides and the Canadian dollar fell 80 cents buying and $1.61 selling closing at an average of $95.60 buying and $97.39 selling.

The highest buying and selling rates also saw major changes with most declining with the minimum selling rate for the US dollars dropping back by $15.77. On Friday it had climbed by $16.35 cents to $98.60.

Friday, 21st June 2013 | Rates fell across the board on Friday in the foreign exchange market as tighter liquidity took hold in the financial system. According to one source, liquidity tightened with the US dollar index bond issued by Bank of Jamaica on the market and the effect was felt in the local currency and the foreign exchange and stock markets as some big investors rearranged some aspects of their portfolio.

The average buying and selling rates for each currency fell except for the buying rate for the pound which increased by 38 cents to reach $154.91. The selling rate for the pound fell $1.27 to close at $156.04. The US dollar slipped marginally on both the buy and sell sides and the Canadian dollar fell 80 cents buying and $1.61 selling closing at an average of $95.60 buying and $97.39 selling.

The highest buying rate fell 5 cents for the US dollar and the lowest selling rate increased $16.35 cents to $98.60, the Canadian dollar dropped across the board 60 cents for the highest buy rate, $2.24 for the lowest buying rate and $2.59 for the highest selling rate to reach $100.50, and $2 for the lowest selling rate hitting $93 at the end of the day.  The Pound lost $1.50 for the lowest selling rate and $4.98 for the highest selling rate and moved down 60 cents for the highest buying rate and $1.78 for the lowest buying rate.

The total amount of currency purchased was US$29.8 million (Thursday was US$25.15 million) and selling US$30.6 million (Thursday accounted for $26.78 million).

Thursday, 20th June 2013 | The foreign exchange market settled today after a hectic market yesterday when BOJ intervened to sell US dollars to the market. BOJ did not intervene today. The selling rates for each currency fell 2 cents in the case of the US dollar to $1.64 for the pound and 66 cents for the Canadian dollar. Buying rates also fell for the US dollar by 37.5 cents, Canadian by $2.10 and the Pound by $2.54.

The highest buying rate fell 70 cents for the US dollar and the lowest selling rate dropped $16.45 down to $82.25. The only change for Canadian dollar was a drop in the lowest selling rate which shed a $1 down to $95. The Pound lost $1 for the lowest selling rates, climbed $3.53 for the highest sell rate and moved up 40 cents for the highest buying rate. There was no change for the lowest buying rate. The movement in the US dollar against most international currencies would have had an impact on the Canadian dollar and the pound which accounted for the sharper fall in those currencies.

The total amount of currency purchased was US$25.15 million and selling accounted for $26.78 million.

Wednesday, 19th June 2013 | Information reaching IC Insider is that Jamaica’s central bank intervened in the foreign exchange market today by selling US dollars to dealers at $101.45 for resale at $101.50. The last time the country’s central bank intervened to sell to the market was back on October 26 of last year at a rate of $90.98.

To access the facilities at BOJ, banks had to inform the central bank as to the names of the end users and the purpose that the funds would be used for. IC Insider gathers that the intervention created instability in the market.

While the central bank was not active before on the selling side they have been very active on the buying side. On May 22, BOJ intervened to buy US dollars at $99.23, they did so as well on the May 20 and 21 at a buying rate of J$99.13. On May 17 the BOJ bought at $99.03, on May 8 it was at $99.0276, and on February 15 they bought at $95.3564.

The dealers bought the equivalent of US$73.93 million but sold US$135.3 million on a day when the rate on the sell side of all three main currencies decreased with the US dollar selling cheaper by 11 cents, the Canadian  20 cents less and the Pound sterling 90 cents less than on Tuesday.

One source pointed out that all their clients who were waiting to get funds were able to do so today. Another source said that the central bank is of the view that dealers have been holding foreign exchange and the BOJ is using the various tools to get banks to reduce their portfolio of foreign currencies.

It appears that BOJ’s decision to intervene may have started the sell off from yesterday and it accelerated today as the mismatch between buying and selling over the last two days suggests that something extra ordinary has been taking place in the market.

The conclusion may well be that non-financial investors may have sold today with the announced intervention by BOJ, hence the large amount bought by authorised dealers.

Tuesday, 18th June 2013 | Trading in the foreign exchange market today was dominated by selling of the currencies but at higher rates than on Monday except for the Canadian dollar which fell by 8 cents. The US dollar cost 45 cents more as the selling rate slipped to $101.61 while the buying rate moved up by 58 cents to $100.87. The pound was sold at 48 cents more than on Monday as it took $159.85 top buy a pound. Authorised dealers bought the pound for 89 cents less than yesterday.

A total of US$31.8 million was purchased and US$69.6 million was sold on the day the BOJ two CDS closed. On the closing date of the last two BOJ CDs there were similar levels of trades.

Friday, 14th June 2013 | The evidence is building to confirm than its not normal demand that is driving the rate of exchange for the Jamaican dollar. During the week ending Friday, authorised dealers bought the equivalent of US$14 more than they sold, with only Thursday’s trade when they bought US$200,000 more than they sold reflecting more demand than the amounts bought. Nevertheless, the rate of exchange climbed for all three major currencies during the week.

In Friday’s trading, US dollar buying by authorised dealers translated to US$2.2 million more than the amount sold but the average rate for buying and selling rose by 3 cents for buys and 30 cents selling. C$727,000 was purchased and C$570,000 sold as the average buying rate declined by 71 cents and selling rose by 15 cents. The Pound sterling rose $1.31 for buying and selling cost an average of $1.13 more than on Thursday. Overall, the equivalent of US$5 million more was purchased than the amount sold. Buying amounted to $25.54 million and selling $20.6 million.

Highest & lowest | On Friday, the highest rates climbed for all currencies with the US dollar rising by 50 cents but selling rates had no change over Thursday’s, the Canadian dollar rose $1.35 and the selling rate was up 16 cents and the Pound rose 95 cents and fell $2.99 on selling. The lowest rates saw no change in the US dollar while the Canadian rose 54 cent for buying and 60 cents for selling and the pound rose 17 cents buying and $3.30 selling.