According to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), the Producer Price Index (PPI) for the Manufacturing Index increased by 23.8 per cent year-over-year between June 2021 and June 2022, owing to an increase in Bauxite Mining and Alumina Processing.
The Mining and Quarrying industry also saw an increase, jumping by 22.0 per cent year-over-year. On a month-over-month basis, the Mining and Quarrying Index declined by 0.3 per cent while the PPI for the
Manufacturing industry climbed by 2.9 per cent in April. The PPI tracks the average change in selling
prices obtained by domestic goods and service producers over time. The month-over-month decline in Mining and Quarrying industry was primarily influenced by a 0.2 per cent rise in the index for the heavier weighted group for ‘Bauxite Mining & Alumina Processing’ and supported by an increase in other major group, ‘Other Mining & Quarrying’, up by 2.3 per cent.
In the meantime, the month-over-month increase in Manufacturing was driven by increases in the prices for ‘Food, Beverages & Tobacco’, ‘Refined Petroleum Products’ and ‘Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products’
that went up by 2.9 per cent, 4.6 per cent and 8.8 per cent, respectively.
Amid the supply chain challenges precipitated by the Russian-Ukraine crisis, oil prices have seen a significant increase since the beginning of 2022. However, after reaching a three-month high in June, oil prices began to fall and would have contributed to the decline in the respective price indices.
The PPI is considered a forward-looking inflation measure as it tracks prices in the pipeline for goods and services that are likely to eventually reach final consumers.
In a document prepared by its research unit, JN Fund Managers Ltd said that, with no immediate prospect of a resolution between Russia and Ukraine, it anticipated that general price level could remain elevated as producers pass on these increases to consumers.
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