JAMAICA’S latest fuel-price surge is threatening to complicate the Bank of Jamaica’s efforts to keep inflation under control just as policymakers had begun cautiously easing monetary conditions earlier this year.

The issue comes into sharper focus today (Friday) with the release of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) April inflation data, while the Bank of Jamaica’s Monetary Policy Committee is due to meet later this month against a backdrop of rising oil prices and escalating tensions affecting global energy markets.

Petrojam prices show regular gasoline (87) rising from $151.32 per litre on February 26 to $189.88 per litre on May 14 — an increase of roughly $38.56 per litre, or about 25 per cent. Premium gasoline (90) increased by about $40 per litre over the same period, while auto diesel rose by roughly $35.25 per litre to almost $198 per litre. The increases come amid worsening disruptions affecting oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping route connecting the Persian Gulf to global markets and one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, as the escalating war involving Iran and the United States continues to disrupt tanker movements and tighten global energy supplies.