The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has announced its decision to hold the policy interest rate (the rate offered on overnight balances at BOJ) unchanged at 0.50 per cent per annum.

Monetary policy decisions taken by the BOJ are aimed at ensuring that the annual increase in the prices of consumer goods and services (i.e. inflation) remains within the Bank’s inflation target of 4.0 per cent to 6.0 per cent.

“Today’s decision to hold the policy rate unchanged reflects Bank of Jamaica’s assessment that inflation will average 5.0 per cent over the next two years and remain within the target range,” the BOJ said.

“This forecast is broadly similar to the previous projections.”

The BOJ said the macroeconomic outlook continues to be characterised by significant uncertainties in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and that it was in this context that the Bank has remained accommodative in its monetary policy stance with the aim of supporting recovery in economic activity.

“These and other factors influencing today’s monetary policy decision will be discussed at Bank of Jamaica’s monetary policy press briefing, scheduled for Friday, 19 February 2021,” the BOJ said.

The next policy decision announcement date is March 29