Guyana’s GDP growth this year is set at 20.9% on the strength of the oil sector but its foreign reserves have once again fallen below the internationally recommended levels as the Bank of Guyana (BOG) used these sums to finance a first quarter deficit of US$53.8 million.
“BOG international reserves amounted to US$626.8 million and was equivalent to 1.5 months of import cover at the end of the first quarter of 2021,” the quarterly report of the Bank of Guyana said, explaining that the overall Balance of Payment deficit was financed by a drawdown on the Bank’s foreign reserves.
The last time the BOG reported reserves below the internationally recommended levels of three months’ import cover, then Opposition Member of Parliament and now President Irfaan Ali had told the House that it was a sign that the country’s financial architecture is on the verge of imploding.