Dr. Henry: BOJ Interest Hike Unlikely to Reverse Growth

The Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica, (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry says the latest increase in the Central Bank’s interest rate is unlikely to result in economic decline in the coming months. This as the Central Bank has come under fire for its latest decision to increase deposit interest rates.

Meanwhile, both the Bank of Jamaica, (BOJ) and the PIOJ project continued growth despite uncertainties for the local economy. The agencies were represented at Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee, (PAAC) meeting on October 5, 2021. 

On Monday, the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, (JMEA) urged the Central Bank to strongly reconsider its move to increase the deposit taking interest rate by one percentage point to 1.5 percent from 0.5 percent. 

The JMEA described the move as misguided and purely academic which would over time result in further economic instability. 

However, Dr. Wayne Henry has indicated otherwise, he says while the economy took a battering from the pandemic the institute has revised its growth projections for the country from 4 to 8 percent at the start of the 2021/2022 financial year, to between 6 to 10 percent due to greater than anticipated performance.

Meanwhile, BOJ Governor Richard Byles told the PAAC that the latest deposit taking interest increase strategy by its monetary policy committee is meant to trigger upward economic adjustments.

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