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Economic activity may has picked up pace in the latter half of the year compared with the first half, with a strengthening in real GDP growth and employment over the second half of the year, Bank of Jamaica is suggesting.
The central bank was commenting on the increase in money in circulation for December. “This projected acceleration in the growth in real currency demand for December 2018 is consistent with the higher growth rate that has been evident between August and November 2018,” the central bank stated. Economic growth in the June quarter was preliminarily placed at 2.2 per cent by the Statistical institute of Jamaica.
The bank went on to say, “when the forecasted change in the general level of consumer prices is taken into account, the projected real growth in currency for the 2018 is 10.5 percent, which is higher than the real growth of 7.3 percent for the previous year.”
The projected currency stock of $128 billion at end-December 2018 represents an annual growth of 15.5 percent, an acceleration when compared with the 12.9 percent recorded at December 2017.
Bank of Jamaica projects that the value of currency issued by the Bank will increase by approximately $18 billion (or 16.5 percent) in December 2018 to end the month. The central bank states that the projected growth for the month is broadly consistent with the 16.5 percent growth recorded for December 2017 as well as the five-year average growth rate of 17.3 percent for December.
BOJ net issued $4.2 billion in currency for December up to 14, this year (representing a 3.8 percent growth for the month to date). This compares to net currency issue of $1.4 billion over the same period in 2017.
