FAVOURED BY good weather that has driven a strong recovery in agriculture and buoyed by other strong new economic data, Finance Minister Omar Davies, says he will meet most of his economic targets for the fiscal year, including growth of approximately three per cent.

".. The country is on track to comfortably meet most of the fiscal year targets, with the major risk being a reversal lin the (recent downward) trend in oil prices," Davies told reporters on Wednesday.

Only two days before the minister's upbeat assessment, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) had issued its projection that the economy had grown by 2.6 per cent in the first half of the calendar year. Davies followed up with data suggesting that the economy has the momentum that would allow 2.9 per cent in expansion in real GDP, the target he set for the fiscal year when he presented his J$358 billion budget in April.

"Barring any unforseen circumstances, inflation will fall below double digit during the fiscal and calendar years," Davies said. It will be the first year of single digit since 2002.

With government spending running at about six per cent budget and revenues less than a percentage point below target, Davies also expects to easily meet hi deficit projection pf 3.9 per cent of GDP.

business@gleanerjm.com

TAKEN FROM THE FINANCIAL GLEANER, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2006