BOJ holds interest rate at 7%
Published:Thursday | March 30, 2023 | 1:37 PM
The Bank of Jamaica has held its key interest rate steady at 7.0 per cent for a third time.
Its last increase was in November when the Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, had tacked on 50 basis points to the overnight rate that the central bank applied to funds deposited at the BOJ by banking institutions.
The central bank had previously signalled restraint on future interest rate hikes in February when it also opted to keep the rate unchanged after a year of increases. Instead, it announced a clamp down on bank cash through increases in the cash reserve ratio, which are due to take effect on April 1.
In a release, the MPC said the decision to hold the policy interest rate at 7.0 per cent was in a bid "to maintain tight Jamaican dollar liquidity and to continue fostering relative stability in the foreign exchange market", while making reference to the impending adjustment to the cash reserve policy.