Introduction
My initial response to the query captured in the header of today’s Sunday column is to introduce a careful paraphrase of the official version of key macroeconomic performance data, as cited in the Ministry of Finance, M o F, mid-2024 Report. I focus on the mid—2024 Report’s commentary on Guyana’s inflation. Interest rates, exchange rate and the fiscal sector.
The reported data are cited below. Following that, I juxtapose this with a similarly careful presentation of the results from the IMF Article IV Consultation with Guyana [December 2023].
Inflation
The mid-year 2024 Report states that the Consumer Price Index rose by 1.6 percent at the end of the first half of the year. At the end of June 2024, the 12-month inflation rate stood at 4 percent. This is on account of an increase in the price of food, which contributed 3.8 of the percentage points. The Report anticipated that proactive Government measures would help to contain commodity prices. As such, the end-of-year inflation projection is modestly updated to 3.2 percent for 2024.