April 16, 2020 Kingston, Jamaica: "Last year Jamaica and the IMF came to an agreement for the IMF to continue to maintain an office in Kingston for two years. This has facilitated a close and open working relationship with frequent exchange of views and information. In particular, I have been in regular communication with the
April 16, 2020 Consumer Price Index – March 2020 The consumer price index for March 2020 was 268.8 resulting in an inflation rate of 0.3% reduction when compared to previous month’s 269.5 price index, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). This downward movement was largely attributed to a 1.8% decrease in the division
April 16, 2020 Brent Oil Brent oil prices decreased by 12.20% or US$3.84, as prices fell this week relative to the prior week. Oil traded on April 16, 2020 at a price of US$27.64 per barrel relative to US$31.48 on April 09, 2020. Brent oil opened 2020 year at US$66.25 per barrel. Petrojam prices 87
April 14, 2020 Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) noted, “Total value added for the Jamaican economy was $197,013 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. This remained relatively unchanged when compared to $197,086 million for the similar quarter of 2018.” This was attributable to growth in the Services Industries of 1.2%, however tempered by the 3.7%
April 09, 2020 Final demand for the Producer Price Index decreased 0.2% in March 2020, seasonally adjusted according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Final demand prices fell 0.6% in February and increased 0.5% in January. On an unadjusted basis, “the final demand index increased 0.7% for the 12 months ended in March,” BLS indicated.
April 9, 2020 Brent Oil Brent oil prices increased by 12.69% or US$3.80, as prices rose this week relative to the prior week. Oil traded on April 09, 2020 at a price of US$33.74 per barrel relative to US$29.94 on April 02, 2020. Brent oil opened 2020 year at US$66.25 per barrel. Petrojam prices 87
April 08, 2020 Unemployment rates trended downward for the month of February in 277 of the 389 metropolitan states compared to twelve months earlier. According to Bureau Labor Statistics (BLS), unemployment rates were, “higher in 80 areas, and unchanged in 32 areas.” Jobless rates lower than 3% were recorded in 73 areas while 6 areas
Date: April 8, 2020 Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) totaled US$3,237.67 million as at March 2020, reflecting an increase of US$106.39 million relative to the US$3,131.28 million reported as at the end of February 2020 (see figure 1). Changes in the NIR resulted from an increase in Foreign Assets of US$91.85 million to total US$3,688.45
April 06, 2020 Job openings recorded a slight change to 6.9 million at the end of February according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. For February, hires and separations were little changed to 5.9 million and 5.6 million, respectively. Regarding the quits rate and layoffs and discharge rate, these were unchanged at 2.3% and 1.2 %
April 06, 2020 Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 701,000 in March, as the rate of unemployment increased to 4.4%, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS). This increase reflects the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and efforts to contain it. BLS mentioned that, “employment in leisure and hospitality fell
