T&T’s Foreign Reserves Fall To US$5Bn

  • The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T, the Republic) net official foreign reserves totalled US$5.04Bn at the end of June, the lowest level for the 2026 calendar year, according to the Central Bank’s data centre. T&T held 5.8 months of import cover at the end of June. However, this is still above the international standard of 3 months of import cover.
  • The data suggest that net official foreign reserves began 2026 at US$5.36Bn (6.3 months of imports), meaning there has been a 6.07% decline in the stock of reserves for the year to the end of June. Foreign reserves peaked at US$5.71Bn at the end of January. That was the month in which the Republic raised US$1Bn in a ten-year bond priced at a coupon of 6.20%.
  • On January 25, the Ministry of Finance said proceeds from its bond issue would fund the tender offer for the 4.50% US dollar notes due 2026 and support the budget. After raising another US$800Mn at 6.20% on July 9, it said the proceeds would repay the 2026 notes and fund general budgetary purposes.
  • At the end of April, Trinidad and Tobago's adjusted general government debt stood at TT$148.23Bn, or 84.7% of GDP. The Central Bank's measure excludes Open Market Operations (OMO) debt used for liquidity management. Central government external debt totalled TT$39.11Bn (about US$5.76Bn).
  • Last Friday, Central Bank Governor Larry Howai, Minister of Finance Davendranath Tancoo, Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development, Kennedy Swaratsingh; and Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Dr Roodal Moonilal, met with key stakeholders in the energy sector to discuss the country’s foreign exchange challenges. Following the meeting, the Central Bank issued a news release stating, “Energy sector conversions remain the primary source of foreign exchange inflows, accounting for approximately 60-75% of total market conversions.
  • However, over the past decade, foreign exchange sales by energy companies have declined by an estimated US$1.2Bn annually, significantly reducing the supply available to the domestic economy. At the same time, demand for foreign exchange continues to outpace supply.”

(Sources: Trinidad & Tobago Guardian)