Devalued dollar increases foreign reserves

April 29, 2009 12:59:50 PM

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Thirteen days after the Fiji dollar was devalued by 20 per cent, the country’s central bank says this has already impacted on its foreign reserves positively.

Reserve Bank governor Sada Reddy said since the implementation of devaluation on April 15, immediate improvements were seen in the level of foreign reserves and commercial banks’ liquidity.

Reddy said foreign reserves which were $441 million prior to devaluation have been steadily increasing and was recorded at $591 million as of yesterday (April 28).

“At the same time, there has been a rapid improvement in the liquidity of banks, that is, the amount of money available for the banks to lend. The current level is about $102 million,” he said.

Reddy said the banks’ liquidity reached a critically low point of $15 million in late March.

“The policies put in place recently to preserve Fiji’s foreign exchange, together with the commercial banks’ support and cooperation in lending to priority sectors will ensure further improvements in the Fiji economy,” he said.