Inflation in Jamaica is getting better, not worse, contrary to the recent statement by the Bank of Jamaica, to the contrary in justifying a steep hike in overnight deposit interest rates by 1.5 percent to 4 percent starting on Monday.
BOJ hikes overnight rate.
Yes, the point to point inflation rate moved up to 9.7 percent, giving the impression that inflation is getting out of hand, but that number does not tell the true story. The 4 percent interest rate will help savers get a more realistic rate on their savings.
The bank really had no significant new information that they did have when rates were raised between September and December, last year. If anything, the new information indicates clearly that inflation is moderating not worsening.
What are the facts? In January and February, last year inflation was negative 1.6 and 0.1 percent respectively and jumped to 1.1 percent in March while slipping to 0.5 percent in April, for a negative year to date inflation then, of 1.1 percent. Between May and September when BOJ moved rates up by 100 basis points inflation was the worse for the year at 1.32 percent per month or annualized 16 percent that is well up from 0.48 percent per month or 5.76 percent. The high rate of inflation suggests the bank should have moved earlier to raise rates than in September.
Inflation since the first interest rate move in September, is running at 0.6 percent per month or 7.2 percent per annum just slightly above the BOJ range of 4-6 percent. The average for the last three months is running at an average of 0.47 percent or 5.64 percent annualized, well below the 16 percent per annum for the period indicated above.
Negative inflation in January 2021 was due to a steep decline in the prices of vegetables and tubers a development that was not sustainable, as such the underlying inflation was more likely positive than negative as such the 0.6 percent increase in January this year is not out of line and is better than the December rate of 0.8 percent. The question to be answered is what can justify a sharp interest rate increase to tame much more moderate inflation over the past three months compared to when the rates were initially raised in September and on two other occasions last year by much smaller amounts that that starting on Monday?
