While Haiti struggles with its weak means against the spread of Covid-19, with already 24 positive cases and 1 death https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30463-haiti-flash-3-new-cases-haiti-in-phase-2-of-the-epidemic.html , that tens of thousands of employees are temporarily unemployed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and that the price of certain products continues to rise despite the Government control attempts, the Gourdes continues to depreciate and has crossed the psychological threshold of 100 Gourdes for a dollar.

The depreciation of our national currency is not new remember that in early 2018 after the Government's decision to dedollarize the economy had put the Gourdes under pressure and increase its depreciation against the US dollar. Add to that the social-political conflicts of the past two years, the blockage of the country for several months and controversial government decisions.

According to experts, the administration has not adopted incentives to promote exports, develop tourism and attract foreign direct investment, while at the same time a deficit of several billion gourdes continues to widen (more than 15 billion in the first quarter https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29948-haiti-economy-the-deficit-explodes-in-the-1st-fiscal-quarter-and-exceeds-15-billion.html ....

The global recession that will inevitably cause the pandemic, especially in the United States and the loss of millions of jobs will lead to a sharp reduction in the flow of foreign currency from the diaspora, as well as the demand for product assembled in Haiti...

At the end of March Jean Baden Dubois, the Governor of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) explained that nothing justified this exchange rate and that it was "a small upturn" wanting to be reassuring, he declared "[...] I think that the Gourde will stabilize against the dollar. People don't need to panic. It is a situation which is under control, the Central Bank will intervene when it is necessary [...]" The BRH has well try to use all its leverage to stop the depreciation of our national money but the market had the last word.

This sharp depreciation, if it continues, could inflate inflation and seriously affect the already low purchasing power of the population. It will also affect imports denominated for the most part in American currency.

For the economist Thomas Lalime "The negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic can amplify the depreciation of the Gourde with the drop in transfers from the diaspora which will itself be very affected by the slowdown or the cessation of many economical activities."

See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-30339-icihaiti-brh-measures-to-mitigate-the-deterioration-of-the-living-conditions-of-the-population.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30332-haiti-flash-easing-measures-of-the-brh.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29948-haiti-economy-the-deficit-explodes-in-the-1st-fiscal-quarter-and-exceeds-15-billion.html

TB/ HaitiLibre