The Trinidad and Tobago economy is officially under a recession, according to Central Bank Governor, Jawala Rambarran. Rambarran went on to identify some of the companies that are the largest users of foreign exchange.
The twin-republic recorded its fourth quarter of negative growth, thanks to prolonged supply disruption in the energy sector. Central Bank expects the Trinidad and Tobago economy to contract by 1.5 percent.
The country will begin to feel the effects as early as next month, the beginning of the new year.
In an attempt to stabilise the market, Rambarran says the Central Bank will provide a pre-announced schedule of its foreign exchange interventions to commercial banks throughout 2016.
Difficult times seem to lie ahead as the Central Bank Governor noted that energy exports are expected to decline by a whopping US $600 million next year, which would result in a drop in the country’s reserves.
Rambarran revealed that the retail/distribution market is the top user of foreign exchange.
The last time the country reportedly faced a recession was in 2012. Central Bank statistics at the time confirmed that T&T had entered a technical recession by the end of 2011.
