The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) issued $12 billion in net currency during the last 10 working days of December 2021.

The currency issued during the period contributed to an overall growth of $22.5 billion or 11 per cent in the currency stock for December 2021 relative to the previous month.

The growth was said to be broadly in line with the BOJ’s projection for growth of $23.1 billion or 11.3 per cent.

However, in comparison to December 2020 growth rate of 12.8 per cent, the rate of growth in currency issue for December 2021 decreased by 1.8 per cent.

The currency was issued to financial institutions namely commercial banks, building societies and cambios.

As at December 31, 2021, the stock of currency was $226.9 billion, representing a year growth of 19.1 per cent, in comparison to a 12-month growth of 28 per cent at the end of December 2020.

The BOJ noted that, “when the estimated change in consumer prices is considered, the estimated real annual growth in currency for the period was 10.9 per cent, compared to 21.6 per cent for the corresponding period in 2020. This deceleration reflects a moderation in orders relative to 2020 when there was considerable uncertainty about the effect of the pandemic.”

The BOJ is expecting that majority of the currency issued during December 2021 will be redeemed during January 2022.

For the last five years, net currency redemption in January averaged 75.8 per cent of the net currency issued in the preceding month.