The Jamaica Stock Exchange will cease all trading today, July 3, due to the pending hurricane.
The entity says its intention is to stay closed for a day during the passage of Hurricane Beryl but reopen on Thursday, unless otherwise advised.
The one-day pause is generally in effect for all businesses across the island, including all banks, which shut down operations starting from midday on Tuesday.
The stock exchange traded on Tuesday up until 2 p.m.
Similarly, the Bank of Jamaica, which operates the foreign exchange market, closed to the public from noon on Tuesday. The dollar lost value that day, trading at $157.31 on average. However, the central bank gave no overt guidance beyond that, saying that the public will be updated regularly regarding any changes to its operating schedule.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange and the banks say they plan to reopen for business on July 4. However, the execution of that schedule, in full or in part, is dependent on how fast hurricane Beryl passes over Jamaica and the damage it leaves behind.
“Devastating hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge and damaging waves are expected in portions of Jamaica beginning this afternoon and in the Cayman Islands early on Thursday,” the National Hurricane Center said early Wednesday. Even if Beryl does not make landfall on Jamaica, it could still cause devastation around 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET when winds are expected to be the strongest.
