With the increased costs of minerals, Bank of PNG Governor Loi Bakani said that exporters should take advantage of these favourable costs at a time when the pandemic is still ravaging the country.
“Mineral prices increased, with those for copper and nickel driven by a pick-up in growth in China,” he said. “Precious metal increased by 16.5 per cent, with the price of gold reflecting its role as a safe-haven investment during the Covid-19 pandemic and also due to global monetary easing.”
In the latest report published by the World Bank last September, costs for non-energy and energy, and precious metals have risen.
“Energy prices rose by 33.9 per cent, driven by cuts in crude oil production by members of the organisation of the petroleum exporting countries (Opec),” he said. “Non-energy prices increased by 9.6 per cent, with higher prices for most agricultural commodities, including cocoa, coffee, tea and palm oil. Given these unprecedented times, PNG exporters should capitalise on these favourable international prices. The country’s foreign exchange reserves are K9.31 billion as of Dec 24, 2020, an increase from K7.13 billion at the end of September. The increase was a reflection of loans and dividend payments, such as loans from the Australian government (US$100 million), Asian Development Bank (US$500 million) and dividend payments to the Government from Ok Tedi (US$113 million).”
Against all major currencies, the daily kina exchange rate depreciated as of December 17, 2020.
“The kina depreciated against the British pound sterling by 2.4 per cent, the euro by 2.2 per cent, and both Australian dollar and Japanese yen by 2 per cent,” Bakani said. “Against the US dollar, it depreciated by 0.6 per cent.”
