within single digits – standing at 4. 0 percent • the difficulties in the foreign exchange market will dissipate in the coming weeks bis central bankers ’ speeches • business confidence is cautiously optimistic and should be bolstered by a successful conclusion to the clico resolution, which is underway. therefore it ’ s not all doom and gloom. at the same time, we at the central bank are not complacent. we recognize the significant threats faced by emerging markets such as trinidad and tobago ’ s in the still uncertain global economy. we see the obstacles that are on our road to recovery. the central bank continues to monitor the economic landscape and exercise our monetary options. as business leaders and stakeholders, we encourage you to take your place and be the positive change you want to see in trinidad and in tobago. i thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

double - digit growth to march 2014, and there has been an increase in property prices, there is no compelling evidence to suggest overheating in the residential property market. more importantly, commercial banks have maintained their prudent mortgage lending standards. over the past few years, the government ’ s budget has been the main stimulus supporting economic recovery. the non - energy budget deficit is the key indicator of whether government is engaged in fiscal stimulus activity. after running a non - energy fiscal deficit of just over $ 19 billion in 2012 / 2013, the central government ran a non - energy budget deficit of $ 12 billion in the first six months of fiscal 2013 / 2014. at this pace the government is likely to meet its projected budgeted stimulus for the entire fiscal year. foreign exchange ladies and gentlemen, i now turn to a matter grabbing headlines and generating intense interest in the country over the past few months, and the reason i suspect most reporters are here this morning ….. to grill me about - foreign exchange. there have been many opinions circulating on this topic and i will say in most cases these opinions are uninformed. the foreign exchange matter came to a head last week when this sensitive issue entered the political domain with comments made by those who displayed little knowledge and understanding about the central bank ’ s role in the domestic foreign exchange market. so please allow me say a few words about the central bank ’ s actual role in the foreign exchange market. first, the bank seeks to foster orderly conditions in the market, mainly by meeting the gap between the demand for, and the supply of, foreign exchange. this gap arises because the general public and the business community usually consume more foreign exchange than is generated by companies in the energy sector which are our main suppliers of foreign exchange. demand for foreign exchange is continuous throughout the year but the supplies come in at discrete intervals. this leads to periodic tightness in the domestic foreign exchange market which the central bank alleviates by selling foreign exchange from its stock of official reserves to the banks. second, until april 2014, the central bank was using a twenty year - old system to sell and distribute foreign exchange to the banks. as an aside, i was part of the team at the central bank that instituted this distribution system following liberalization of the foreign exchange market in april 1993. this system served the market well, particularly in the early years. over the past 20 - odd years, however, there was little, if any, modification this arrangement even though the economy