Bank of Jamaica
Dealing With MidEast War Uncertainty and Digesting Purchasing Managers Survey, Japanese Tankan and U.S. Data Releases
April 1, 2026
President Trump’s forever-shifting latest comments on the Middle East war project another likely 2-3 weeks to the conflict. Opening the Strait of Hormuz in such a way that shipping flow is secure and at a normal volume is his principal demand. This can be done either voluntarily by Iran or will be accomplished by a […] More
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 […] More
Softer Dollar
December 22, 2025
(160) The dollar fell overnight by 0.6% against the Australian and New Zealand currencies, 0.5% versus sterling, and 0.3% relative to the yen, euro, Swiss franc and Canadian dollar. With the yearend holidays now at hand, the U.S. currency has settled into the cadence of its initial years after floating in 1973 when it fell […] More
Equities Withstand Japanese Rate Hike
December 19, 2025
As widely anticipated, the Bank of Japan implemented its first interest rate increase in 11 months. At 0.75%, the short-term deposit facility has attained its highest level in in just over three decades. Today’s fourth increase since March 2024 won unanimous approval by the central bank board after 5 hours of deliberation, but monetary officials […] More
U.S. Personal Consumption Report and Many European Data Releases
March 28, 2025
Shortly before the release of U.S. personal income, PCE and the PCE price deflator this Friday morning, the dollar was showing overnight advances of 0.3% against the euro and peso, 0.2% versus the the Swiss franc and sterling, and 0.1% relative to the Canadian dollar. The dollar benefited from tariphobia. Uncertainty ahead of next Wednesday’s […] More
Trump and Ueda Comments and Early February PMI Findings
February 21, 2025
After weeks of confrontational trade talk and action, President Trump switched to a good cop approach on trade with China, expressing eagerness to hold talks soon with Xi Jinping and hope that a deal can be struck to lessen tensions over trade and other stuff. Following data showing an acceleration in Japanese inflation, Bank of […] More
Jamaican Central Bank Interest Rate Cut
December 23, 2024
The latest central bank to announce the result of its last monetary policy review of 2024 is the Bank of Jamaica. Officials there reduced the interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.0%. This was the fourth such cut since August. The rate previously had been held at 7.0% since December 2022. Jamaican consumer price […] More
Conflicting News on Russian/Ukraine Crisis
February 21, 2022
The one certainty at the Ukraine border is that a full-scale Russian invasion has not begun. Beyond that, its unclear whether to be more or less frightened about prospects than before the weekend. U.S. President Biden has agreed conditionally to meet with Russian President Putin. The condition is that Russian not invade before such talks, […] More
