NEWS RELEASE
Producer Price Index
Highlights
September 2007

November 23, 2007

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) recently released a new economic indicator, the Producer Price Index (PPI) that is being published monthly . The monthly bulletin of producer prices was introduced in February 2007 and tracks price movements at the level of the producer. It covers producer prices for two industries namely, Mining & Quarrying and Manufacturing and is published with a two month lag. All indices are subject to two subsequent revisions after the original release.

In September, the Producer Price Index (PPI) advanced by 1.4 for the Mining and Quarrying industry and 2.2 per cent for the Manufacturing industry, when compared to the previous month. An increase of 1.4 per cent in output prices for items in the 'Bauxite Mining and Alumina Processing' group was the main contributor to the rise in the index for the 'Mining & Quarrying' industry. For the Manufacturing industry, the upward movement in the index was largely due to higher prices in the index for 'Food, Beverages Tobacco' & 'Refined Petroleum Products'.

The fiscal year to date movements in the PPI, for April to September 2007 showed increases of 3.5 and 7.0 per cent in the index for Mining & Quarrying and Manufacturing, respectively.

For the period September 2006 to September 2007, the index for the Mining & Quarrying and Manufacturing industries reflected increases of 7.9 and 13.8 per cent respectively.

The Producer Price Index Bulletin for September 2007 provides detailed information on the movement of producer prices and is available at the Statistical Institute of Jamaica's Distribution Centre located at 7 Cecelio Avenue , Kingston 10. Data is also available on the STATIN website at www.statinja.com .