Jamaica's inflation rate leaps

Tuesday, December 30, 2003

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Jamaica's rate of inflation leaped above government targets to 13 percent at the end of the first eight months of the 2003-2004 fiscal year, a state financial agency said on Monday. 

According to Reuters, the inflation rate rise in the period to Nov. 30 was driven by sharp increases in food and drink prices as well as a weak Jamaican dollar and the effect of a new tax package, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica said. 

The institute said the inflation rate had exceeded earlier government projections that saw the rate staying below 10 percent for the period and at 11 percent for the fiscal year. 

The inflation rate for the last fiscal year, 2002-2003, was 9 percent. 

The institute, which examined the economy between the start of the fiscal year on April 1, and Nov. 30, said sharp price increases for food and drink during the period contributed heavily to the rise in inflation. 

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