As the year winds down, Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke says the recovery of the nation’s economy is still being threatened by global inflation.

In a post on Twitter yesterday (December 15), Dr.Clarke noted that while the economy is recovering steadily, factors such as the Russia/Ukraine war, continue to remain a threat to inflation.

He said a predicted recession for Europe might spill over to the United States.

The Finance Minister said the Government must continue taking precautionary measures to tackle these possibilities.

According to Dr. Clarke, debt to GDP and unemployment have been lower than pre-COVID-19 levels, and he expects that economic output will return to pre-COVID-19 levels, by next year.

Dr. Clarke also noted that yesterday (December 15), Jamaica and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level agreement on a precautionary and liquidity line, and the resilience and sustainability facility, with combined access of US$1.7 billion. The IMF’s Executive Board is expected to consider these requests early next year.