Jamaica’s economy continues to show signs of strong recovery; however, risks to a sustained growth path are elevated

The EPOC met on October 7, 2022 to review the Fiscal and Monetary Quantitative Performance indicators under the Government of Jamaica’s Economic Reform Programme. The following were key highlights noted by EPOC:

  • Inflation rate of 10.2% at August 2022 was flat relative to July 2022
  • The BOJ’s MPC believes that, despite the 600 bps (since October 2021) increase in policy rate to 6.50% effective September 30, 2022 and other policy actions pursued by the BOJ, conditions  have not sufficiently solidified to ensure that inflation is sustainably on a downward path.
  • For FY2022/23 (April-August), Revenue and Grants and the fiscal and primary balance targets outperformed budget targets
  • Net International Reserves of US$3.81B as at September 2022  remain robust
  • Real GDP growth of 4.8% was recorded for the April-June 2022 quarter and is projected to fall within the range of 2.0%-3.0% for the July-September 2022 quarter