- Decision
- Maintain
- Rate change
- 0 bps
- repo rate
- 3.5%
The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago maintained the repo rate at 3.50% in its June 26, 2026 monetary policy announcement, citing a combination of less favourable and highly uncertain global conditions, including elevated inflation and tighter monetary conditions abroad, alongside domestic low inflation, moderating economic activity and slower private sector credit growth. The central bank said system liquidity remained ample despite periodic fluctuations, with commercial banks’ daily excess reserves averaging TTD 4,578 million in mid-June, and it will continue to monitor liquidity conditions in light of public sector financing, credit activity and subdued inflation. Headline inflation slowed to 0.3% year on year in May 2026 from 0.7% in March, while core inflation was unchanged at 0.8%, and indicators suggest overall economic momentum may have slowed in the first quarter of 2026 as natural gas constraints weighed on the energy sector and uncertainty damped non-energy business confidence and investment; private sector credit growth also eased to 4.0% in April from 5.3% in December 2025. Globally, the central bank said the Middle East War has disrupted energy exports and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting commodity and maritime costs, while the International Monetary Fund’s April 2026 World Economic Outlook projected global growth of 3.1% and inflation of 4.4% for 2026. The central bank said it will continue to monitor international and domestic developments and take further actions as necessary.
Rate evolution
From June 2025 to June 2026, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago kept the repo rate unchanged at 3.50%, maintaining a prolonged pause as inflation stayed low and domestic growth softened while external uncertainty rose. Early decisions emphasised contained headline and core inflation, favourable financial conditions and initially strong but moderating credit growth, alongside slowing non-energy activity, with the Monetary Policy Committee also watching credit quality, liquidity conditions and the effects of fiscal financing.
By late 2025, the Committee said the economy still needed support because gains in the energy sector were being offset by weaker non-energy momentum, but it placed greater weight on external stability, citing the narrower Trinidad and Tobago-United States rate differential, the risk that wage adjustments could lift demand and imports, and the need to safeguard foreign reserves. In March 2026, as war in the Middle East lifted energy prices and market volatility, the Bank again held, judging that well-contained inflation, slower credit growth and non-energy weakness warranted supportive funding conditions, while stressing uncertainty, reserve adequacy risks and readiness to adjust policy if needed. It maintained the repo rate again in June 2026, noting that headline inflation had eased to 0.3% in May and core inflation was unchanged at 0.8%, while overall activity may have slowed in the first quarter as natural gas constraints moderated energy output and uncertainty weighed on business confidence and investment in the non-energy sector. The Committee also cited slower private sector credit growth, ample system liquidity and a less favourable global backdrop of weaker growth prospects, elevated inflation and tightening monetary conditions, and said it would continue to monitor developments and take further actions as necessary.