KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting that the calendar year–to-date inflation rate as of October 2024 was 2.8 per cent.

At the same time, the point-to-point inflation rate for October 2023 – October 2024 was 4.9 per cent.

This was influenced mainly by the point-to-point inflation rate for the divisions: ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ (5.3 per cent), ‘transport’ (9.1 per cent) and ‘housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ (3.5 per cent).

Meanwhile, the All-Jamaica Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October 2024 was 140.5, unchanged when compared to the September 2024 index.

There was a 1.5 per cent increase in the ‘housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ division, due to higher electricity and water rates and a 0.3 per cent increase in the division ‘personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services’, due to higher cost for personal care services and products.

STATIN said the increases in both divisions’ index were, however, tempered by a 0.8 per cent decline in the index for the heaviest weighted division, ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’. The decline in the ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ division was largely due to a 5.8 per cent decrease in the index for the class ‘vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses’ resulting from lower prices for agricultural produce such as tomatoes, sweet peppers and pumpkins.