KINGSTON, Jamaica  – The All-Jamaica Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April 2025 declined by 0.4 per cent when compared to March 2025 as released on Friday by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).

The largest contributor to the downward movement was a 1.4 per cent fall in the index of the ‘housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ division said STATIN. It said the decline in the division was driven by a 4.0 per cent reduction in the index of the group ‘electricity, gas and other fuels’ resulting from lower electricity rates.

The index for the heaviest weighted division, ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’, fell by 0.5 per cent. The fall was mainly attributed to a 2.8 per cent decline in the index for the class ‘vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses’, due to lower prices for agricultural produce such as yam, Irish potato, cabbage and sweet pepper.

“Tempering these downward movements in the CPI for April was a 0.4 per cent increase in the index of the ‘health’ division,” said STATIN. It said this was primarily due to higher costs for prescription medication.

Meanwhile, the point-to-point inflation rate (April 2024 – April 2025) was 5.3 per cent. This was influenced mainly by increases in the index for the divisions: ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ (7.5 per cent), ‘housing, water, electricity, gas and other Fuels’ (6.1 per cent), ‘restaurants and accommodation services’ (6.2  per cent).