Economic Highlights
April 17,2018 The inflation for the month of March 2018 declined for the second consecutive month with a contraction of 0.1% following the same movement in February 2018, according to The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). The Consumer Price Index for the month moved to 248.1 relative to the 248.3 reported for February 2018. This decline
April 17, 2018 Euro area (EA19) exports of goods to the rest of the world in February 2018 was €177.5 billion, an increase of 3.0% compared with February 2017 (€172.3 billion). On the other hand, imports from the rest of the world stood at €158.6 billion, a rise of 1.5% compared with February 2017 (€156.2
April 17,2018 United States: Fed's Rosengren Digs In Over Warning U.S. Economy May Overheat Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren doesn’t buy the argument that the U.S. economy’s benign mix of low unemployment and low inflation will continue, and worries the central bank may be too slow in raising interest rates. “We have to
April 16, 2018 United States: U.S. Stock Futures Rally, Bonds Fall After Syria: Markets Wrap U.S. stock futures rallied and bonds fell with crude oil as traders speculated there would be limited repercussions from the missile strikes in Syria. Haven assets including Treasuries and gold dropped with European debt, while the Stocks Europe 600 Index
April 13, 2018 United States: Stocks Gain as Focus Shifts From Trade to Earnings: Markets Wrap Stocks gained as investors took heart from further easing in trade tensions and started focusing on the U.S. earnings season. The dollar erased an earlier loss as Treasury yields steadied above 2.8 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 gauge reached
Brent Oil Brent oil prices increased by 5.02 % or US$3.43, as prices rose this week. Oil traded on April 12, 2018 at a price of $71.76 per barrel relative to US$68.33 last week. Brent oil began the year at US$68.07 per barrel. Petrojam prices 87 Octane prices decrease week over week, by 0.31% (JMD$0.38).
April 12, 2018 United States: U.S. Stock Futures Rise on Syria Hopes; Euro Falls: Markets Wrap U.S. stock futures rose and Treasuries slipped as investors speculated Middle East tensions won’t erupt into a destabilizing conflict. The euro fell after Europe posted another weak economic reading. Contracts for the S&P 500 pushed to session highs after
April 11, 2018 United States: U.S. Core Inflation Accelerates as Drag From Phone Costs Fades A key measure of U.S. inflation accelerated to the highest in a year as a drag from mobile-phone costs faded, bearing out the Federal Reserve’s forecast for a pickup in price gains. Excluding food and energy, the core consumer price
April 10,2018 Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) totaled US$3,074.57 million as at March 2018, reflecting a decrease of US$104.93 million relative to the US$3,179.50 million reported as at the end of February 2018 (see figure 1). Changes in the NIR resulted from a decrease in Foreign Assets of US$104.22 million to total US$3,656.91 million compared to
April 6, 2018 Unemployment rate remains flat at 4.1percent even as total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 103,000 in March. Sectors that experience a marginal uptick in employment for the month of March were manufacturing, health care, and mining. “Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.7 percent), adult women
