Upward movement in health division as prices for medical services went up

Lower food prices in the Jamaican economy have led to a deflation rate of 1.6 per cent for January 2021, when compared to the previous month’s inflation rate of 1.3 per cent.

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) reports that the main contributor to this decrease was a 4.6 per cent fall in the index for the heaviest weighted division, ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ and a 0.8 per cent decrease in the index for the ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ division.

This was however tempered by an increase of 0.7 per cent in the index for the division ‘Transport’. The index for the division ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages,’ fell by 4.6 per cent for January 2021.

The group ‘Food’ fell by 4.8 per cent while ‘Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ increased by 0.4 per cent. The decline in the ‘Food’ group was attributable to a 17.8 per cent fall in the index for the class ‘Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses’ and a 5.6 per cent decline in the class ‘Fruits and nuts’ due to lower prices for agricultural produce such as tomato, lettuce, cabbage, orange and pineapple.

Most other classes of food increased

STATIN says the decrease in the index for the division was however moderated by increases in the index of most of the other classes, notably ‘Cereal and cereal products’ up 0.5 per cent and ‘Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals,’ growing by 0.4 per cent. For the group ‘Non-Alcoholic Beverages’, the index for all three classes rose.

‘Fruit and vegetable juices’ was by 0.4 per cent, ‘Coffee, Tea, Cocoa’ growing by 0.5 per cent and ‘Water, Soft drinks and Other non-alcoholic beverages’ advanced by 0.3 per cent. The ‘Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Narcotics’ division grew by 0.2 per cent for January 2021, resulting from increased prices within the ‘Alcoholic Beverages’ group, which moved upwards by 0.3 per cent.

On the other hand, the division for ‘Clothing and Footwear’ observed an increase of 0.5 per cent in its index for January 2021. In the index, the groups ‘Clothing’ and ‘Footwear’ climbed by 0.4 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively.

Decline recording in ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ division

The index for the ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ division recorded a 0.8 per cent decline influenced by reduction of rates for electricity, which led to a 3.1 per cent fall in the index for the group ‘Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’. The overall move was moderated by the 1.9 per cent rise in the index ‘Water Supply and Miscellaneous Services Relating to the Dwelling’ caused by higher water and sewage rates.

‘Maintenance, Repair and Security of the Dwelling’ also saw an increase of 0.9 per cent. Inflation of 0.4 per cent was recorded for the division ‘Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance’.

All groups within this division rose as a result of higher prices for household items: ‘Household Textiles’ went up by 0.5 per cent; ‘Tools and Equipment for House and Garden’ and ‘Goods and Services for Routine Household Maintenance’ each moved up by 0.4 per cent; ‘Furniture, Furnishings, and Loose Carpets’ up by 0.3 per cent, while the index for ‘Household Appliances’ rose by 0.2 per cent.

Upward movement in health division

The division for ‘Health’ recorded an increase of 0.4 per cent in its index for January 2021. The main contributing factor to this upward movement were increases in the groups ‘Medicines and Health Products’ and ‘Outpatient Care Services’ which increased by 0.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.

The index ‘Transport’ rose by 0.7 per cent. According to STATIN, “this was largely due to higher petrol prices. The ‘Information and Communication’ group rose by 0.3 per cent for January 2021 because of higher prices for some information processing equipment.”

The ‘Recreation, Sport and Culture’ division registered a 0.4 per cent rise for January 2021. The factor which contributed to this movement was the 0.5 per cent increase in the group ‘Newspapers, Books and Stationery’. The upward trend was due to higher newspaper prices.

STATIN highlighted a 0.1 per cent increase in the ‘Restaurants and Accommodation Services’ for January 2021 due to higher prices for meals consumed away from home. The index for the ‘Insurance and Financial Services’ division rose by 4.3 per cent for the period under review. This was due to increases in the cost of motor vehicle insurance.

The movement in the index for fiscal year-to-date was 3.4 per cent and the point- to-point was 4.7 per cent as at January 2021. The Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, Rural Areas and Other Urban Centres reported deflation 1.8 per cent, 1.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively.