Late cash surge lifts December currency growth to central bank’s target
KINGSTON, Jamaica – A strong late-December surge in cash demand pushed Jamaica’s currency growth for the month to meet the central bank’s target, final data showed on Monday, offsetting a softer-than-expected trend reported just a week earlier.
The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) said that in the last five working days of the month, it issued a net $13.1 billion ($14.1 billion issued minus $0.9 billion redeemed) to the financial system. This late flurry of activity contributed to an overall expansion of $21.7 billion, or 7.2 per cent, in the total currency stock for December 2025.
This final outturn was largely in line with the BOJ’s projection, made on December 11, for 7 per cent growth. It marks a recovery from the mid-month position reported on 24 December, which showed growth of just 2.9 per cent for the first 22 days and was trailing both the forecast and the previous year’s pace.
The month’s growth, however, remained lower than the 8 per cent expansion recorded in December 2024.
At the end of the year, the total stock of currency in circulation reached $322.3 billion. This represented an annual nominal increase of 12.7 per cent, significantly higher than the 3.1 per cent growth seen at the end of 2024. After adjusting for inflation, the real value of currency holdings grew by an estimated 7.1 per cent, a sharp reversal from a real decline of 1.8 per cent a year earlier.
The central bank cited several factors behind the stronger annual growth, including precautionary cash demand following Hurricane Melissa, increased remittance inflows, higher inflation, and an economic rebound from the impact of Hurricane Beryl in July 2024.
The BOJ anticipates that most of the extra cash issued for the holiday period will flow back into the financial system in January. Over the past five years, an average of 68.8 per cent of December’s net currency issuance has been redeemed the following month.
The central bank manages the daily flow of notes and coins based on demand from commercial banks, which in turn respond to withdrawals by individuals and businesses during the high-spending holiday season.
Currency in circulation includes all Jamaican banknotes and coins held by the public and as vault cash in commercial banks.
