BOJ Says Economic Output Will Decline Due to Hurricane Beryl

The Bank of Jamaica, BOJ, says the Jamaican economy will contract marginally for Financial Year 2024-2025 due to the impact of Hurricane Beryl.

BOJ Governor, Richard Byles, made the projection while speaking at the bank’s quarterly media briefing on Wednesday.

But as Chevon Campbell reports, Mr. Byles expects the country will quickly return to growth after the initial setback.

Nearly two months after the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 3, many Jamaicans are still suffering from the lingering effects.

Governor Richard Byles says the category 4 storm wiped out an estimated %6 billion in economic output.

The central bank governor expects this shock will cause an economic contraction of as much as 1.5% of total Gross domestic product, GDP.

However, the BOJ has already responded to the economic impact of the storm by easing its tight monetary policy.

On Tuesday, it reduced its policy rate by 25-basis points to 6.75% per annum down from 7%.

The reduction is in effort to further stimulate growth.

This is buoyed by expectations of inflation remaining stable within the target range of four to six percent.

Governor Byles believes that over the next two years, any shocks stemming from higher prices will be short-lived as the country returns to regular economic activity.

He was supported by Deputy Governor, Robert Stennett, who says he doesn’t expect the impact of Beryl to go beyond a single economic quarter.