TALK ABOUT DEVALUATION of the Barbados dollar is just that – talk. That’s according to Minster of Finance Chris Sinckler.
In the face of consistent suggestions within and outside the country that the island’s currency peg at 2:1 against the United States dollar was under threat, Sinckler insisted the currency was secure, though he admitted foreign reserves fell below the minimum bar of 12 weeks of import cover.
“The Barbados dollar is in absolutely no danger of a devaluation vis-a-vis its standing against the US dollar. It is not going to happen next week, next pay day, next three months, next year or at any other time in the foreseeable future. That is simply not going to happen,” he stressed.
Saying this was not the first time the island’s import cover fell below 12 weeks, he said neither in 1998 or 1999 when it occurred, “there was never a question that any Government of the day would countenance any decision to adjust the value of our currency”. (GE)
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