Trinidad and Tobago’s net official foreign reserves totalled US$5.58 billion at the end of February 2026, an increase of 3.9 per cent from the end of December 2025, when the reserves amounted to US$5.36 billion, according to data from the Central Bank website.
T&T’s net official foreign reserves plunged to a near 20-year low at the end of August last year, when the Central Bank recorded its holdings of forex exchange at US$4.61 billion, just above the US$4.53 billion reported in March 2006.
The decline in T&T’s foreign reserves to a near 20-year low in August 2025, preceded by less than a month the announcement by S&P Global Ratings on September 25, 2025, that it was revising the country’s outlook from stable to negative, while maintaining the long-term sovereign credit rating at “BBB-” (investment grade).
“The negative outlook reflects the possibility of a downgrade absent meaningful and timely steps to strengthen the sustainability of public finances, ensure balanced economic growth, and maintain the country’s strong external profile,” S&P Global Ratings said in its news release announcing the ratings decision.
S&P said the negative outlook reflected its view that there is at least a one-in-three chance that it could lower the ratings over the next six to 24 months.
“The country’s fiscal and external buffers have been gradually weakening over time and its long-term economic growth has been low. Despite many efforts, there has been only limited progress by previous administrations in diversifying the economy, leaving it vulnerable to volatile energy prices while output from the oil and gas sector has recently declined,” said the rating agency.
S&P Global Ratings also referred to its concerns over declining energy production and weak fiscal and external buffers.
On December 12, 2025, the other major rating agency, Moody’s, Moody’s also revised downward its outlook on T&T from stable to negative, citing that the change in the outlook “reflects rising external vulnerability, as liquid foreign exchange reserves have fallen by 24 per cent over the past year to US$3.2 billion, as of August 2025.” The rating agency defined liquid reserves as gross reserves, excluding gold and special drawing rights.
Taking issue with what he said was Moody’s narrow definition of T&T’s foreign exchange reserves, Minister of Finance Davendranath Tancoo said, “The decline in Moody’s narrow definition of foreign exchange reserves happened to be the contributing factor in their negative outlook. Their definition of foreign exchange reserves not only excludes gold and Special Drawing Rights, but, more critically, ignores all the significant foreign currency assets managed by other economic agents,” including the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund.
