The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) says it has pumped half a billion US dollars into the domestic foreign exchange market, saying it is aware of the difficulty some businesses and the public have been experiencing in obtaining foreign currency.

In a statement, the CBTT said that it has been “actively and aggressively” taking steps to address the situation and that in the last three and a half months it has sold US$500 million to the banking sector to alleviate tensions in the domestic foreign exchange market.

The CBTT said that it typically supplies 25 per cent of the total foreign exchange needs of the market, with the remaining 75 per cent supplied by the banking system.

“The Central Bank is assuring the public that other initiatives are currently being pursued to strengthen the operational efficiency of the domestic foreign exchange market. The Bank continues to monitor developments in the foreign exchange market and will take appropriate action as needed,” the statement added.

The bank gave no reasons as to the shortage of US currency on the domestic foreign exchange market.