Guyana dollar should remain relatively stable due to low price of petroleum imports- Governor tells PSC

Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Dr. Gobind Ganga opined that no one should be made to pay more than G$215 to G$218 for a US dollar. However, he conceded that there is currently a short waiting period for persons who wish to purchase foreign currency since demand should be screened to establish the legitimacy of the requests.

This was related to the Private Sector Commission (PSC) which met with the Governor on Monday, April 10, 2017, on the foreign exchange issue and related matters.

According to a statement from the PSC, it was pointed out to the Governor that Guyana enjoyed a stable rate of exchange over several years and the present change is unnerving.

However, the Governor pointed out that even with all the speculation in the market, the depreciation of the Guyana dollar was modest.

The Governor assured the Commission that there is an adequate supply of foreign exchange and provided statistical evidence to support this position.

The PSC said Dr. Ganga also explained that “the Guyana dollar should remain relatively stable due to the current low price of imports of petroleum and petroleum products which more than offset the decline in export receipts.”

Additionally, it was noted that the Governor revealed that the Bank is exploring reports that foreign goods, meant for another country, were being paid for using foreign currency sourced from Guyana. In addition, there were some flows of foreign currency to Suriname by businesses who collected US$ in payment for goods.

In this regard, the Commission promised to collaborate with the Central Bank in regular monitoring of the system to defend the currency against speculative threats.