A total of 29 offers from dealers amounting to $18.35 million were presented for sale to Bank of Jamaica in the second buy side of B-FXITT foreign exchange auction held on Wednesday this week.
The bank accepted 22 offers for the US$12 million it offered to buy. Despite the excess supply, the rate for the US dollar rose above the average rates dealers sold to the general public at since beginning of last weeks. The average in the first buy auction held on April 11, resulted in an average rate of $125.42. The average rate came out at 125.93 for accepted offers but was J$126.24 for all amounts that were offered for sale. The highest priced offer was at U$127.50 and the lowest J$124.90.
US$ rate rises in BOJ FX auction
BOJ cuts planned FX auction sale
Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) is cutting the amount it is committed to sell in its weekly foreign exchange auction B-FXITT, to US$29 million over the next four weeks.
The announced sale, is down from US$40 million that BOJ made available to Authorised Dealers and Cambios from the last Wednesday in September up to last week at US$10 million weekly. The amount to be sold this Wednesday will be US$10 million even as dealers have been selling off surplus foreign currencies, leading to an appreciation of the local currency since September. For the first two weeks of November US$7 million will be available, followed by US$5 million.
The amount to be sold is a fraction that the central bank will be buying from the system under the compulsory surrender requirement set by BOJ.
Ending FX surrender requirements

Jamaica’s Central Bank head quarters Downtown Kingston
The present arrangement where Bank of Jamaica requires foreign exchange dealers to surrender around 25 percent of their daily intake is to be phased out.
The central bank now considers the market deep and liquid enough for government entities to go directly into the market for their needs.
According to Bank of Jamaica, “the introduction of the buying side of B-FXITT will be synchronized with the gradual reduction of surrender and PSE requirements, and over time, these requirements will be terminated. This gradual transition will see more funds available in a more dynamic and transparent market.” Starting July 26, the central bank formally introduced an auction system for foreign exchange trading. The initial stage is the introduction of selling of funds to the market.
Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) currently purchases foreign exchange via three channels: regular surrender arrangements, the public sector entity (PSE) facility, and occasional direct purchases from individual financial institutions. The PSE facility in particular was considered a useful initiative to remove potentially distorting transactions from the foreign exchange market, but the central bank states that it is not flexible or synchronized enough to respond proportionately if a large entity experiences a sudden change in its foreign exchange needs. Also, while it began as a safeguard mechanism to protect a shallow and fragile market, the facility came with the price of a loss of transparency. Taking these and the surrender transactions out of the mainstream market means the market rate does not reflect the entire spectrum of foreign exchange transactions.
BOJ says that “with economic fundamentals improving and the foreign exchange market growing deeper, Jamaica is evolving towards a stage where the market is robust enough to handle these transactions without BOJ’s protection, and so these government agencies can freely settle their transactions in the market without causing disruptions. The market will therefore become more accurate and transparent by reflecting all major transactions, and daily rates will be a more accurate and credible reference of overall market activity.”
These pending changes mean that BOJ’s standard method of buying foreign exchange will become the what the central bank states is the “same efficient, market-friendly and transparent tool which it now uses to sell”. “BOJ says it “will retain the right to buy or sell foreign exchange outside of the standard B-FXITT schedule at any time if extraordinary conditions warrant, but will likely utilize a B-FXITT-type operation at those times instead of bilateral transactions, which will ensure that these transactions reflect current market conditions and are settled transparently at market-determined rates. BOJ’s avoidance of bilateral transactions will also benefit the market by encouraging dealers to trade more among themselves.”
J$127.77 mid-day rate for US$
Authorised dealers bought US$9,913,199 at an average rate of J$127.137 up to mid day on Thursday and sold US$5,243,960.45 at an average of J$127.769.
On Wednesday at midday, the selling rate of the US dollar was $127.85, with US$12 million being sold. In Thursday’s session dealers bought C$6,640,074 at J$102.817 each and sold just C$98,944.26 up to the same time.
Forex demand drops
The number of bids posted in the Bank of Jamaica B-FXITT auction on Wednesday dropped from 42 bids totaling $62.6 million last week, to 36 this week for only US$20.55 million this week.
The central bank made US$10 million available for purchase on Wednesday this week, 18 bids were accepted, with rates ranging from $130.05 to $130.50, with the latter for US$1.2 million. The average rate came out at $130.28, down from an average of rate of J$131.36 last week.
Bank of Jamaica sold US$30 million in last week’s auction on Wednesday to eligible Authorised Dealers and Cambios.
BOJ forex auction clears at J$131.36
Bank of Jamaica sold US$30 million that it auctioned on Wednesday, September 20, to eligible Authorised Dealers and Cambios, at an average of rate of J$131.36 to one US dollar.
The central bank received 42 bids totaling $62.6 million of which 17 were successful, in its B-FXITT Standard Intervention Tool. The highest bid rate was $131.80 to purchase US$3 million, with the lowest being $121.28 to buy US$1 million.
At the auction, last week Wednesday, a total 45 bids amounting to US$60.9 million chased, the $20 million Bank of Jamaica offered for sale, resulting in an average rate of $131 to buy the US dollar on offer. The auction’s highest bid then was $131.10 to purchase US$2.3 million.
Dealers bid up rates at BOJ FX auctions
Bank of Jamaica introduced a new system in providing foreign exchange to the local market by offering a weekly amounts for sale, in the first instance. In the latest offering the average rate climbed to $131 as demand exceeded the amount on offer.
Later on, presumably in the winter months, when inflows are much higher then, the auction will accommodate both buying and selling, with the central bank buying or selling as the circumstance dictates.
AT the auction, last week Wednesday, a total 45 bids amounting to $60.9 million chased, the $20 million Bank of Jamaica offered for sale, resulting in an average rate of $131 to buy the US dollar on offer. The auction highest bid was $131.10 to purchase US$2.3 million. In the previous week’s auction, BOJ offered US$10 million that attracted 43 bids amounting to US$29.1 million, with the highest rate at $130.50 to buy $1 million. Bank of Jamaica on Thursday, August 31, had a special unscheduled offer of $35 million available to the market pulling in 31 bids amounting to US$70.2 million chasing the offer. The next auction will see BOJ auctioning off US$30 million this week Wednesday as announced at the start of the month.