Point-to-point inflation in Jamaica has bent back close to the Bank of Jamaica’s target of 4-6 percent based on the February 2024 data released by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, with a reading of 6.2 percent following monthly inflation plunging by 0.6 percent for the month and follows a fall of 0.10 percent in January.
The decline was influenced by the decreases in the index for the divisions ‘Food and Non Alcoholic Beverages’ (1.1 percent) and ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ (1.6 percent).
Negative inflation in February
Solid gains for Jamaica’s tourist arrivals
Jamaica continues to see positive development in the country’s economic progress, with the critical tourism sector continuing to record solid growth in stopover arrivals in 2024 and continuing to drive foreign exchange earnings and employment in the sector.
The sector that is the country’s largest foreign exchange earner saw the point of entry on the country’s northern coastal town, Montego Bay enjoying a 7.8 percent increase in passenger traffic passing through the Sangster International Airport to 442,500 compared with 410,700 in February 2023 and is up a solid 8.7 percent to 934,500 from 859,600 passengers for the first two months of the year.
At the same time, Kingston Norman Manley Airport with 112,200 passengers passing through Jamaica’s second largest airport in February 2023, had a 1.5 percent increase in passenger traffic in 2024 to 113,800 and a similar increase in 2024 from 258,200 in 2023 to 262,100.
American Airlines inaugural first to Ocho Rios
Saturday marked another chapter in Jamaica’s tourism history, with American Airlines commencing its inaugural scheduled flight to Boscobel Ian Flemming International Airport, utilising an Embraer 175 aircraft.
The flight was scheduled to take off at twenty minutes after 10 o’clock, this morning but was delayed by 15 minutes due the traffic congestion in Miami but landed at 11.50 am, well ahead of the 12.20 pm scheduled landing time.
The initial plans call for twice a week flights, but with the region being a major resort in Jamaica the time saved by landing at this airport could be very appealing for tourist who would prefer to forgo the trip into Montego Bay with a near two hours drive by road to get to their destination. a flight into Ian Flemming would see less congestion at the airport making easier and faster to be processed.
Jamaica pulled US$3.44B in remittances in 2023
Remittance inflows to Jamaica, ended in 2023 at US$3.37 billion, down two percent compared to total inflows of US$3.44 billion in 2022, and representing the third consecutive year that remittances exceed $3 billion and the fourth since it has come close to $3 billion, in 2020 in hitting a then record high of US$2.9 billion, well above the previous high of US$2.4 billion in 2019.
Remittance inflows for December 2023 declined by 3.6 percent to US$314 million, compared with US$326 million in December 2022. The data was compiled from data released by Bank of Jamaica
Jamaica’s NIR slips in January but
Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) fell by US$79 million in January this year to US$4.679 billion from US$4.758 billion at the end of 2023 and is up US$703 million above US$3.976 billion at the end of 2022, but data indicates the country in a far better foreign exchange position than the previous two years.
The Bank of Jamaica NIR report, states that the reserves represent 23.6 weeks of Estimated Gross Official Reserves in weeks of Goods & Services Imports, down from 25.2 weeks in December 2022.
The decline follows the sale of $30 million to the market through the B-FXITT intervention on January 15th, $20 million on January 16th, $30 million on January 25 and US$20 million on January 26 totalling US$100 million and exceeding the reduction in the NIR in January, but the intervention seems to be on the decline since 2021. In January last year, the central bank intervened 5 times with sales of US$140 million and in January 2021 they pumped US$185.68 million into the system on six occasions.
Jamaica’s visitor arrivals climb
Stopover visitor arrivals into Montego Bay through Sangster International Airport, rose nearly 10 percent in January this year versus last year while activity for the Norman Manley Airport just increased by 1.6 percent over 2023.
According to the data released by the operators of Jamaica’s two main international airports, Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico, the Montego Bay based Sangster International Airport handled 9.6 percent more passengers in January this year than it did in 2023. The number of arriving and departing passengers climbed to 491,000 from 449,000 in January 2023, while the Kingston Norman Manley Airport had 1.6 percent more passengers using the airport in January this year, some 148,300, up from 146,000 in January 2023.
The increase is a positive development for Jamaica which relies heavily on the tourist industry for economic development and foreign exchange.
Jamaica’s NIR jumps another $100m
Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) rose approximately US$113 in the first 10 days of 2024 data published by the country’s central bank, the Bank of Jamaica shows. The latest increase to the total of US$770 million that was added in 2023 to over US$870 million since the beginning of 2023.
The January inflows push the total at the close last year of US$4.76 billion to US$4.87 billion and just short of the US$5 billion mark. The build-up of the NIR comes against the background of the tight monetary policy pursued by the country’s central bank that has sucked local money from the financial market, by use of certificates of deposit (CDs). Over the past year, the Bank of Jamaica’s open market instruments mainly CDs have moved up by J$74 billion to $247 billion. Apart from funds being bought from the market, the NIR would also have grown by interest earned on the funds being held as reserves which could be around US$200 million per year based on current interest rates internationally.
Jamaica’s remittances exceed US$3B in 2023
Jamaica had total remittance Inflows of US$268 million in November last year, down 3.4 percent from US$277 million in November 2022, Jamaica’s central bank data show.
For the 11 months to November 2023, remittance inflows to the country amounted to US$3.064 billion, a decline of 1.6 percent compared to 2022 for the same period. The decline is just US$50 million short of the US$3.114 billion for the same period in 2022. The full 2023 outcome could fall short of US$3.4 billion based on the trend for the year to date and would be down on the US$3.44 billion that obtained in 2022.
Jamaica’s inflation jumps
Price increases in Jamaica rose at a slower pace than for November with Statin reporting that the All-Jamaica Consumer Price Index increased by 0.5 percent for December 2023 compared with a steep 1.6 percent increase in November.
The latest monthly movement “was mainly due to an upward movement of 2.5 per cent in the index for the ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ division as a result of higher prices for rent, electricity, water and sewage rates, “ Statin stated in their release.
The point-to-point inflation rate (December 2022 – December 2023) was 6.9 per cent an increase over the 6.3 percent to November.