Producer Prices Index fell by 1.6% in December 2022  

 

  • For December 2022, output prices for producers in the Mining and Quarrying industry increased by 0.6% while for the Manufacturing industry prices declined by 1.6% as indicated by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).
  • The movement in the Mining and Quarrying industry index was mainly attributed to a 0.6% increase in the index for the major group ‘Bauxite Mining & Alumina Processing’. This was due primarily to the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar against the US dollar.
  • The main contributors to the decline in the Manufacturing index were the ‘Refined Petroleum Products’ group, which fell by 9.0%, and ‘Chemical and Chemical Products’ which declined by 1.1%.
  • The decline in the index for ‘Refined Petroleum Products’ was due to lower prices for crude on the international market, while the movement in the index of the ‘Chemical and Chemical Products’ group was attributed to the lower cost of raw materials. The fall in the index was, however, tempered by a 0.3% increase in the index for the heaviest weighted major group ‘Food, Beverages& Tobacco'.
  • For the period December 2021 – December 2022, the Mining & Quarrying index fell by 22.1% while the point-to-point movement for the Manufacturing index increased by 11.2%. The three major groups contributing to the movement in the Manufacturing industry were ‘Refined Petroleum Products (12.6%), ‘Food, Beverages & Tobacco’ (12.5%), and ‘Chemical and Chemical Products (9.4%).
  • The fall in the Mining and Quarrying Index was largely due to the decline in prices for Bauxite and Alumina on the international market during 2022.

(Source: STATIN)