Jamaica IMF reform
Our 2014 year-end review covers the defining stories of a year that began with Caribbean optimism and ended with the oil price crisis transforming Trinidad & Tobago’s outlook. The December 17 announcement of US-Cuba diplomatic normalisation is the Caribbean’s most geopolitically significant development in decades, with profound long-term implications for regional tourism, investment and property markets.
Oil prices collapse toward $55 per barrel following OPEC’s decision to maintain production, confirming a structural price shift that places Trinidad & Tobago in severe fiscal crisis. The Caribbean holiday season brings welcome tourism revenue across most markets. Jamaica’s IMF reform programme approaches its second anniversary with solid progress.
Oil plunges from $80 toward $65 per barrel as OPEC’s November meeting approaches without any signal of production cuts. Trinidad & Tobago enters emergency budget discussions. Caribbean’s winter tourism season opens strongly, providing a counterweight to energy sector anxiety. Jamaica’s fiscal improvement continues and Barbados’s tourist arrivals show encouraging signs.
Oil prices fall toward $88 per barrel through August, sharpening concern about Trinidad & Tobago’s fiscal outlook. The 2014 Atlantic hurricane season remains thankfully quiet. Jamaica’s economic reform continues under IMF supervision, the Dominican Republic’s tourism record years continue, and Guyana’s offshore exploration maintains regional interest.
Caribbean summer tourism peaks as oil prices begin easing from their June highs, raising early questions about Trinidad & Tobago’s fiscal trajectory. CBI activity remains strong across Eastern Caribbean markets while Jamaica’s NHT continues to drive affordable housing. Construction activity stays robust across the region.
Spring 2014 brings a Caribbean investment boom: CBI programmes in St Kitts, Grenada, Antigua and Dominica flourish; Jamaica marks one year under IMF reform; the Dominican Republic construction surge continues; and Trinidad & Tobago’s energy revenues remain robust with oil near $100 per barrel.