Inflation Marginally Exceeds BOJ’s Target Range

• According to a bulletin released by STATIN on January 15, 2020, the All Jamaican Consumer Price Index recorded an inflation rate of 0.5% in December 2019.
• This 0.5% rise in December was mainly a result of a 1.5% increase in prices for ‘Housing, Water, Gas and Other Fuel’, and a 0.5% uptick in prices for ‘Food, and Non-alcoholic Beverages’.
• The movement in ‘Housing, Water, Gas and Other Fuel’ was due mainly to higher rates for electricity, water and sewage, while the increase in prices for the most heavily weighted ‘Food, and Non-alcoholic Beverages’ segment was largely as a result of higher prices for vegetables.
• The 2019 calendar year inflation rate of 6.2% sits marginally above the BOJ’s target range of 4%-6%. At this level, the inflation outturn for 2019 is the highest recorded since 2014 and is likely influenced by the aggressive expansionary monetary policy pursued by the BOJ during the year.

(Source: STATIN)