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Members of the private sector, including merchants and business owners, are on edge Thursday as they brace for the impact of Wednesday’s record slide in the value of the Jamaican dollar.
The local currency sunk to its lowest value with more than J$92 required to purchase one US dollar.
At the end of the day, the US was selling at an average J$92.05 but was being sold for as high as J$95 by some traders.
A year ago the average rate was J$86.70.
The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, JCC, is predicting a further slide in the dollar as the country awaits word on a new deal with the Government and the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
According to JCC president, Francis Kennedy, this has left business owners in uncertainty as to where the Jamaican dollar could end up.
He told the RJR News Centre Wednesday night that merchants are trying to stave off financial losses by paying their suppliers earlier than usual.
Mr. Kennedy says this is placing more pressure on the foreign currency market.
The JCC President says Jamaicans should brace for higher prices as the Jamaican dollar continues to depreciate.
“Higher prices are coming because of the dollar slide. Until such time as we get an IMF agreement settled down, the whole foreign exchange system …the dollar will continue to slide…we have a free market and there is speculation whether we like it or not.”
Audley Shaw, Opposition Spokesman on Finance, has also expressed alarm at the continuing slide in the value of the Jamaican dollar.
He said, among other things, it has wide ranging implications for consumers as well as the economy.
Like the JCC, Mr. Shaw says prices will definitely be going up.
The Opposition Spokesman also pointed to Jamaica's debt. Mr. Shaw says the amount owed by the country to its creditors is set to further balloon.
“It(debt) will also be increasing because half of the stock of debt is denominated in US dollars…so every time there is a valuation, the nominal stock of total debt increases…not necessarily because more money has been borrowed, but because the exchange rate is slipping,” Mr. Shaw told the RJR News Centre.
The local currency sunk to its lowest value with more than J$92 required to purchase one US dollar.
At the end of the day, the US was selling at an average J$92.05 but was being sold for as high as J$95 by some traders.
A year ago the average rate was J$86.70.
The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, JCC, is predicting a further slide in the dollar as the country awaits word on a new deal with the Government and the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
According to JCC president, Francis Kennedy, this has left business owners in uncertainty as to where the Jamaican dollar could end up.
He told the RJR News Centre Wednesday night that merchants are trying to stave off financial losses by paying their suppliers earlier than usual.
Mr. Kennedy says this is placing more pressure on the foreign currency market.
The JCC President says Jamaicans should brace for higher prices as the Jamaican dollar continues to depreciate.
“Higher prices are coming because of the dollar slide. Until such time as we get an IMF agreement settled down, the whole foreign exchange system …the dollar will continue to slide…we have a free market and there is speculation whether we like it or not.”
Audley Shaw, Opposition Spokesman on Finance, has also expressed alarm at the continuing slide in the value of the Jamaican dollar.
He said, among other things, it has wide ranging implications for consumers as well as the economy.
Like the JCC, Mr. Shaw says prices will definitely be going up.
The Opposition Spokesman also pointed to Jamaica's debt. Mr. Shaw says the amount owed by the country to its creditors is set to further balloon.
“It(debt) will also be increasing because half of the stock of debt is denominated in US dollars…so every time there is a valuation, the nominal stock of total debt increases…not necessarily because more money has been borrowed, but because the exchange rate is slipping,” Mr. Shaw told the RJR News Centre.
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