Economic Indicators – March 29, 2018
|
Indicator |
Period | Data | Year/Year | YTD Chg |
Mth/Mth |
|
|
Current |
Similar Period Last Year |
|||||
| Inflation Rate | Feb-18 | -0.10% | 0.20% | *4.4% | ||
| Three Month T-Bill Avg Yield | Mar-18 | 2.98% | 6.13% | -315bps | -120bps | -38bps |
| Six Month T-Bill Avg Yield | Mar-18 | 3.17% | 6.32% | -315 bps | -146ps | -42bps |
| Interest Rate on BOJ Overnight Rate (policy rate) | Mar-18 | 2.75% | ** 3.0% | |||
| Weighted Average Loan Rate | Jan-18 | 14.46% | 16.12% | -166bps | -13bps | -13bps |
| Commercial Bank Loans (J$M) | Jan-18 | $615,825.73 | $499,055.03 | 23.40% | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Current Account Deficit (US$M) | July – Sept 2017 | -$305.56 | -$186.30 | |||
| NIR (US$M) | Feb-18 | $3,179.50 | $2,615.26 | 21.57% | -0.90% | -0.74% |
| Remittance (Inflows US$M) | Aug-17 | $191.60 | $194.10 | -1.29% | -13.81% | -1.74% |
| FX Rate J$ : US$1 | 29-Mar-18 | $125.99 | $128.39 | -1.87% | 0.79% | -1.69% |
| Junior Market Index | 29-Mar-18 | 2,958.51 | 2,990.48 | -1.07% | 8.29% | 1.15% |
| Junior Market Capitalisation (J$B) | 29-Mar-18 | $125.12 | $119.83 | 4.41% | 8.99% | 1.18% |
| JSE Main Market Index | 29-Mar-18 | 294,533.10 | 223,637.99 | 31.70% | 2.13% | 0.64% |
| JSE Volume Traded YTD (B units) | 29-Mar-18 | 2.38 | 0.64 | 271.88% | ||
| JSE Main Market Capitalisation (J$B) | 29-Mar-18 | $1,061.27 | $789.40 | 34.44% | 1.19% | 0.64% |
** Previous BOJ Overnight Interest Rate (policy rate) as at January 18, 2018
For the 11-month period (April 2017 to February 2018) of the 2017/18 fiscal year, the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) exceeded its primary balance target by J$21.23B to achieve a balance of J$116.77B. This was driven by tax revenues exceeding budget by 2.0% to earn J$429.12B. Corporate and PAYE taxes outperformed the budget despite the GOJ raising the tax threshold to J$1.5M in 2017, possibly highlighting improved compliance measures implemented. Non-tax revenues also outperformed its budget by 6.0% to earn J$40.73B for the period. Conversely, the GOJ has seemingly employed less aggressive spending with total expenditure behind budget by J$15.21B supporting the large fiscal surplus of J$26.26B. This surplus is likely to fall come the end of the fiscal year 2017/2018 due to supplementary salary changes for government employees.
