Jamaican markets batten down for hurricane
Published:Monday | October 3, 2016 | 12:00 AM
There was no market trading on Monday as the central bank, financial houses and the stock exchange battened down ahead of Hurricane Matthew.
Bank of Jamaica, which oversees the foreign exchange market, said the trading rates for last Friday would be applicable for business purposes - that is, Customs and GCT - up to today, Tuesday.
On Friday, the Jamaican dollar closed at $128.2704 against the US dollar, at $166.7776 against the pound sterling, at $144.9520 against the euro and $97.3084 relative to the Canadian dollar.
The central bank and the Jamaica Stock Exchange both issued notices advising that they would be closed Monday. Hurricane Matthew is projected to continue affecting the island into today.
Jamaicans began ramping up preparations for the hurricane on Friday at a time when Matthew was flirting with Category 5 status, the most dangerous classification for storms. Nonetheless, the stock market was upbeat on that day. The JSE Combined Index closed 560 points higher at 177,090 points, despite an even advance-decline split in the stocks that traded.