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JAM | May 17, 2026

Lower electricity rates pushes down inflation for April 2026

/ Our Today

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Jamaica has seen a marginal decline in inflation for the month of April 2026, as measured by the All-Jamaica Consumer Price Index (CPI), which went down by 0.3 %. 

This was mainly influenced by a 4.3 % fall in the index for the ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ division, as a result of lower electricity rates. The fall in electricity rates for the period led to a 12.5 % reduction in the index for the group, ‘Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’.

The overall decline in the CPI, which measures changes in the general level of prices for consumer goods and services purchased by private households, was, however, tempered by a 0.6 % increase in the index for the ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ division. 

This upward movement was primarily due to a 6.2 % increase in the index for the class ‘Fruits and nuts’, due to higher prices for some agricultural produce, such as ripe bananas, oranges, and watermelons. Additionally, the index for the ‘Transport’ division recorded an increase of 1.1 %, due to higher petrol prices.

The point-to-point inflation rate as of April 2026 was 4.3 %. The main contributors were the divisions: ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ (6.8 %); ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ (1.8%) and ‘Transport’ (2.3%).

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Consumer Price Index

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