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ECCB Governor: EC Dollar stable

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Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, has boasted of the stability of the Eastern Caribbean Dollar despite economic challenges spurred on by the effects of COVID-19 and the war between Russia and Ukraine.

At a recent church service to mark the ECCB’s 39th anniversary, Antoine said the decisions made by policy makers decades ago have resulted in a stable Eastern Caribbean Dollar today.

“Many of us take this stability for granted, because all we know is $1us, $2.7 EC, and we’ve known that for years, all our lives,” Antoine said.

“We forget there was a time when it was not like that, that [a] decision was made in July, 1976 and because of that decision we are enjoying stability, and until recently, relatively low inflation.”

The central bank governor continued that to address the issue of high inflation, the world’s major banking institutions must raise interest rates.

“We need the US Central Bank, as well as the other major central banks, to do their part, which they’re trying to do, by raising interest rates to get inflation down. We feel it because we understand inflation is the hardest tax on the poor and the vulnerable, so for us this is a big deal,” Governor Antoine stated.

“I think you would agree with me, the confidence that comes from having a stable dollar is something to cherish and to protect. When you look at other countries and other currencies in our region and elsewhere, this is something for which we can be justifiably proud and we must never take it for granted,” he concluded.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s primary objective is to maintain the stability of the EC currency and the integrity of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) banking system.

As part of its mandate, the central bank also provides policy advice to its eight member governments and assists in promoting their economic development.

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