Prices down 1.3% in Jamaica’s Q1

Prices as measured by the consumer price index fell 0.1 percent in March 2016 according to a report released by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica. For the calendar year-to-date there was a decline in inflation of 1.3 percent.
The fall in March was mainly due to sharp fall in the prices of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages that fell by 0.5 percent and was influenced by lower prices for Vegetables and Starchy Foods by 2.9 percent and 3.1 percent respectively. The category of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels fell by 0.1 percent and Transport by 0.4 percent. Reduced rates for water and sewage were chiefly responsible for the movement.
At the March 2016 quarterly media briefing, Jamaica’s Central Bank projection for 12-month inflation over the next four quarters, is between 4.5 percent and 6.5 percent.