Inflation Continues to Fall

Jamaica’s inflation rate continues to decline, with the figure falling to 1.9 per cent for the September 2016 quarter.

This was 0.6 per cent lower than the out-turn for the June quarter, Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor, Brian Wynter, has reported.

He also indicated that the September out-turn represented the eighth consecutive quarter in which inflation had declined.

The Governor was speaking at the Bank’s quarterly media briefing at the BOJ auditorium in downtown Kingston on Monday, November 14.

Meanwhile, the Bank is forecasting that inflation for the 2016 calendar year will fall below two per cent.

Mr. Wynter said, however, that the figure is expected to rise to between four and 6.5 per cent by the March 2017 quarter.

“This rise is simply the statistical result of dropping out the deflation that occurred in the months of January, February and March of 2016. Actual price increases between now and March are projected to continue at a steady rate, averaging about 0.4 per cent per month,” Mr. Wynter explained.

He noted that inflation expectations continue to be anchored in low single digits.

The Governor noted that the outcome of the inflation expectation survey conducted on August 2016 showed a decline to 3.3 per cent for the 12-month projection, down from 3.8 per cent in May.

“This is encouraging, as expectations continue to be below our inflation target,” he added.