The policy rate is already at 6 per cent, inflation is still above the target, and Jamaica’s next interest rate decision is eight days away. Mortgage holders are left holding their breath.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, 10 November 2026
The date on the calendar
The Bank of Jamaica will announce its next policy interest rate decision at the close of business on Wednesday 18 November, according to the Bank’s own published schedule. The rate has stood at 6.0 per cent since 29 September, when the Monetary Policy Committee raised it by half a percentage point from 5.50 per cent.
That September move followed a stretch in which prices had already broken through the upper end of the Bank’s 4 to 6 per cent inflation target. The Bank’s latest published figure puts headline inflation at 8.6 per cent in September.
What this means for a mortgage
The policy rate is the rate the central bank pays on balances that deposit taking institutions hold with it. It does not set anyone’s mortgage rate by itself. Each commercial bank and credit union decides what it charges, and those rates can take time to move, or sometimes barely move at all.
Even so, a higher policy rate is meant to keep money tighter and to stop today’s inflation from settling into everyday expectations. For a household already paying a commercial mortgage, that can mean little relief in the monthly bill and a nervous wait to see whether the next decision goes higher still, stays put, or eases.
What the Bank has already said
In its September summary of decisions, the Bank said inflation was likely to keep rising in the near term before returning to the target range by mid 2027, depending on how long overseas conflicts and higher commodity prices persist. It also pointed to drought and weak crop yields as a source of dearer food at home.
Our cartoon shows the household view of that forecast: a family, a mortgage folder and a house perched on a single 6 per cent block, staring at a closed door and a calendar marked 18 November.
What borrowers can do now
If you have a variable rate loan, ask your lender in writing what a further change in the policy rate would do to your payment. If you are waiting to buy, get a fresh approval letter dated close to your intended completion, because older offers can lapse. Keep a cash buffer for the months ahead, and do not assume the next announcement will make borrowing cheaper.
The house is already up on 6 per cent, and the next move will not come until the close of business on 18 November.
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