Inflation hits 8.6 per cent in September, highest since December 2022

Jamaica's annual inflation rate climbed to 8.6 per cent in September, the highest since December 2022 and above the Bank of Jamaica's (BOJ) four-to-six per cent target range, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).

In its monthly report released on Thursday, STATIN said the All-Jamaica Consumer Price Index rose 1.5 per cent in September alone, driven mainly by a 2.9 per cent increase in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages division. Within that, prices for vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses jumped 10.5 per cent, on higher prices for tomato, carrot, lettuce, pumpkin, Irish potato and sweet potato.

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Damien King, executive director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI), said the higher inflation is being driven by food prices, which he linked to agricultural shortfalls following Hurricane Melissa, which hit Jamaica nearly a year ago.