The Sixth Jamaican 25-Basis Point Central Bank Interest Rate Cut Since August 2024
February 23, 2026
Today’s reduction to 5.50% from 5.75% was the first cut in nine months. It was agreed upon unanimously by members of the Bank of Jamaica‘s Monetary Policy Committee and, according to a released statement, justified because “the direct impact of Hurricane Melissa on inflation was less severe than initially anticipated. A faster-than-expected improvement in agricultural supplies, along with recent mild exchange rate appreciation, supported lower inflation. Inflation is now projected to generally trend within target over the next eight quarters.” The inflation target is 4-6%, and consumer prices in January were 3.9% higher than a year earlier.
At the Bank of Israel earlier today and in contrast to the Bank of Jamaica’s rate change, officials decided not to make the 25-basis point rate reduction that analysts were anticipating. There had been 25-basis point cuts at the previous policy reviews in January and November, but in spite of the fact that inflation continues to develop as officials were expecting, a pause today was justified because “geopolitical uncertainty has resurfaced in recent days in view of a potential confrontation with Iran, and Israel’s risk premium increased slightly.” Israel’s central bank remains 4.5%.
Copyright 2026, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved.
Tags: Bank of Israel, Bank of Jamaica
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