Jamaica’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 7.0% for the seventh session. August saw Jamaica’s annual inflation rate climb slightly to 6.8% from July’s 6.6%, yet below the April 2022 peak of 11.8%. Factors such as rising agricultural costs, education price hikes, oil price shifts, and wage pressures have pushed up recent inflation rates. Business inflation expectations for the upcoming year increased to 8.8%, up from 8.3% in May 2023.