BOJ holds policy rate at 5.50% amid global uncertainty
Published:Tuesday | March 31, 2026 | 6:03 PM
Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has maintained its policy rate at 5.50 per cent, citing heightened global uncertainty driven largely by the conflict in the Middle East as the primary reason for holding steady.
“The elevated level of uncertainty stems largely from the conflict in the Middle East, which has led to significant increases in key international commodity prices, particularly energy-related prices,” stated the BOJ in its statement.
The BOJ’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) noted that the shock to commodity prices poses a risk of higher domestic inflation and lower domestic growth.
“In the context of increased uncertainty, the MPC determined that the current monetary policy stance is the most appropriate to support inflation converging to the target range over time,” it stated.
BOJ started raising interest rates to combat COVID-19 inflation, which resulted in a fourteen-fold rise in rates.
In October 2021, it increased rates from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent.
And over the following year, the policy rate climbed to a peak of 7.0 per cent by November 2022.
It was then held there for nearly two years.
Cuts came gradually from late 2024.
The rate dropped from 6.75 per cent to 6.50 per cent in October 2024, then to 6.00 per cent in December 2024, and further to 5.75 per cent in May 2025.
The most recent reduction, to the current 5.50 per cent, took effect in February 2026.
The MPC, which met on March 27 and 30, noted that while inflation currently sits below target at 3.9 per cent as of February 2026, the outlook has worsened.
The MPC warned that "the inflation outlook is now subject to a high degree of uncertainty" driven by rising international commodity prices, particularly in energy.
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