WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund said it was closely monitoring developments in Jamaica and Haiti on Thursday following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, adding that Jamaica had buffers to finance immediate disaster-related needs.

IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack told reporters that the IMF was standing by to assist both countries, which were the hardest hit by the storm, but Jamaica had not expressed interest in financial support from the global lender.

“Our preliminary assessment, based on our discussions with the authorities, and our deep knowledge of Jamaica, is that Jamaica has buffers to finance the immediate disaster-related spending needs,” she said.

Jamaica has a strong fiscal and external position, a sound policy framework and multi-layered financin

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