November 19, 2019 Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) announces its decision to hold the policy interest rate (the rate offered on overnight placements with Bank of Jamaica) unchanged at 0.50 per cent per annum, effective Wednesday, 20 November 2019. As with the previous decision announced in September 2019, Bank of Jamaica’s decision today to hold
Date: November 19, 2019 The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) held their Media Briefing today, discussing the review of the economic performance of Jamaica for the July to September 2019 period. Dr. Wayne Henry, Director General of PIOJ, highlighted the macroeconomic performance for the July-September 2019, mentioning, “real GDP grew by an estimated 0.3 percent
November 18, 2019 Consumer Price Index – October 2019 The consumer price index for the month of October 2019 increased by 0.6%, following a 0.4% increase in its index for September 2019, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). This movement was largely attributed to the upward movements in the division of ‘Food and
November 13, 2019 The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.4% for October after being unchanged in September, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated. The all items index increased 1.8% before seasonal adjustment over the last year. The index for all items less food and energy
Date: November 08, 2019 United States: U.S. Says Phase-One China Deal Would Include Tariff Rollback The U.S. and China have agreed to roll back tariffs on each other’s goods in stages as negotiations continue over resolving the more than yearlong trade war, officials on both sides said. “In the past two weeks, top negotiators had
Date: November 7, 2019 Net International Reserves- October 2019 Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) totaled US$3,169.57 million as at October 2019, reflecting an increase of US$71.52 million relative to the US$3,098.05 million reported as at the end of September 2019 (see figure 1). Changes in the NIR resulted from an increase in Foreign Assets of US$74.93
November 7, 2019 Real GDP in the second quarter of 2019 increased for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), “the percent change in real GDP in the second quarter ranged from 4.7 percent in Texas to 0.5 percent in Hawaii.” The BEA also noted
November 7, 2019 Brent Oil Brent oil prices increased by 3.72% or US$2.24, as prices decreased this week relative to the prior week. Oil traded on November 07, 2019 at a price of US$62.47 per barrel relative to US$60.23 on October 31, 2019. Brent oil began the year at US$54.91 per barrel. Petrojam prices
November 5, 2019 The Bureau of Labour Statistics reported that, “the number of job openings edged down to 7.0 million (-277,000) on the last business day of September.” In addition, for September, hires and separations changed to 5.9 million and 5.8 million, respectively. Regarding quits rate and layoffs and discharge rate, these were little changed
Date: November 04, 2019 For the period of April to September 2019, the GOJ reported Total Revenues & Grants of $313.95 billion, $3.58 billion more than the Government’s projection. Furthermore, year over year, this represents an increase of approximately 9.6% relative to the $286.46 billion recorded for the corresponding period in 2018. ‘Tax Revenue’, ‘Non-Tax
