Date: July 16, 2019 

The consumer price index for the month of June 2019 declined by 0.1%, following a 0.8% increase in its index for May 2019, according to The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). The Consumer Price Index for the month of June fell to 258.4, relative to the 258.8 reported for May 2019. This movement was largely attributed to the downward movements in the divisions, ‘Transport’ by 1.0% and ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ by 1.2%. The ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ division however tempered this downward movement as their indexed advanced 0.2% for the month of June. Inflation within the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, Rural Areas and Other Urban Centres each declined by 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.2% respectively.

The index for the ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ division recorded a 1.2% decline in its index for June 2019, following a 0.5% increase for May 2019. This was as a result of the group ‘Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ registering a 2.3% decline in its index due to “lower electricity rates”. This downward movement was however tempered by the upward movements in the divisions ‘Water Supply and Miscellaneous Services Related to the Dwelling’ and ‘Maintenance and Repair of Dwellings’ each registering a decline of 0.2% in its index respectively.

The index for the division ‘Transport’ recorded a decrease of 1.0% in its index for the month of June 2019. According to STATIN, “this decrease was attributed to a fall in the price of petrol and the cost for air travel.”

The index for the ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ division recorded a 0.2% increase in its index for June 2019, following a 0.5% increase for May 2019. This resulted from the upward movements within the groups ‘Food’ and ‘Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ by 0.2% each. Within the ‘Food’ group, all classes except for ‘Vegetables and Starch Foods’ recorded increases with the classes ‘Fruit’ and ‘Fish and Seafood’ advancing by 0.5% and 0.4% respectively. The class ‘Vegetables and Starch Foods’ registered a decline of 0.1%. The ‘Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ group registered a 0.2% growth in its index, as the classes ‘Coffee, Tea and Cocoa’ and ‘Mineral Water, Soft drinks, Fruits and Vegetable Juices’ both recorded increases of 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.

The index for the divisions ‘Clothing and Footwear’, ‘Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance’ and ‘Miscellaneous Goods and Services’ each recorded increase of 0.2% in its index for the month of June 2019. The former was as a result of the group ‘Clothing’ increasing 0.2% while the movement in the index ‘Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance’ resulted from upward movements in the groups ‘Goods and Services for Routine Household Maintenance’(0.3%), ‘Household Appliances’ (0.2%), ‘Glassware, Tableware and Household Utensils’ (0.5%) and ‘Household Utensils’ (0.5%). The increase within the division ‘Miscellaneous Goods and Services’ was attributable to “the increase in the prices of personal care and personal effect products”.

The divisions ‘Alcoholic Beverages’, ‘Restaurant and Accommodation Services’ and ‘Recreation and Culture’ all recorded increases of 0.1% in their respective index for June 2019. The index for the division ‘Alcoholic Beverages’ recorded an increase of 0.1% due to increased prices for ‘Spirits’ while the division ‘Restaurant and Accommodation Services’ recorded a similar increase “as a result of increases in the price of meals consumed away from home.”

Lastly, the division ‘Health’ recorded an increase of 0.3% in its index for June 2019. This resulted from the classes ‘Medical Products, Appliances and Equipment’ and ‘Health Services’ each recording increases of 0.5%.
Notably, the other divisions ‘Communication’ and ‘Education’ had no effect on the index for June 2019.

The movement in the index for the fiscal year-to-date was 0.8% and the point-to-point movement was 4.2%. Individual divisions saw the following changes:

1. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages: (0.2%)
2. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco: (0.1%)
3. Clothing and Footwear: (0.2%)
4. Housing, Water, Electricity, gas and Other Fuels: (-1.2%)
5. Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance: (0.2%)
6. Health: (0.3%)
7. Transport: (-1.0%)
8. Communication: (0.0%)
9. Recreation and Culture: (0.1%)
10. Education: (0.0%)
11. Restaurants and Accommodation Services: (0.1%)
12. Miscellaneous Goods and services: (0.2%)

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