CASTRIES, St. Lucia – Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, says the subregion currency remains ‘very strong’ amid the economic fallout current COVID-19 pandemic.
Antoine pointed to the currency’s strength in his Christmas message and highlighted it among ‘many achievements’ for which the ECCB can be justifiably proud.
“Our EC dollar remains very strong. It’s current backing in foreign reserves is 97 percent,” Antoine disclosed.
He also said the ECCB recorded its highest profit ever – $63.1 million. However, the ECCB Governor observed that the Currency Union is experiencing its largest shock on record.
Antoine said there’s a projected decline of 16.2 percent this year.
“Our governments continue to grapple with significantly lower revenues while simultaneously expending considerable sums on COVID-19 response measures,” he said.
“Evidently, this moment calls for shared sacrifice by all stakeholders as we navigate this difficult passage together,” he expressed.
According to Antoine, despite the pandemic’s economic and financial fallout, countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) have responded relatively well.
He said the region is thankful that it only experienced a small number of deaths.
“Looking ahead, we project the ECCU will grow by 5 percent next year, like Tourism, our dominant export, slowly recovers,” he stated.
Antoine pointed to the currency’s strength in his Christmas message and highlighted it among ‘many achievements’ for which the ECCB can be justifiably proud.
“Our EC dollar remains very strong. It’s current backing in foreign reserves is 97 percent,” Antoine disclosed.
He also said the ECCB recorded its highest profit ever – $63.1 million. However, the ECCB Governor observed that the Currency Union is experiencing its largest shock on record.
Antoine said there’s a projected decline of 16.2 percent this year.
“Our governments continue to grapple with significantly lower revenues while simultaneously expending considerable sums on COVID-19 response measures,” he said.
“Evidently, this moment calls for shared sacrifice by all stakeholders as we navigate this difficult passage together,” he expressed.
According to Antoine, despite the pandemic’s economic and financial fallout, countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) have responded relatively well.
He said the region is thankful that it only experienced a small number of deaths.
“Looking ahead, we project the ECCU will grow by 5 percent next year, like Tourism, our dominant export, slowly recovers,” he stated.
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