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Philippines: DOF sees faster inflation in June
MANILA, Philippines — The overall increase in prices of key consumer items likely accelerated at a faster pace in June driven by higher food prices, the Department of Finance said Tuesday.
In an economic bulletin, the DOF said inflation might have inched up to 4.9 percent in June. Actual May inflation rate spiked to a five-year high of 4.6 percent, putting the year-to-date figure to 4.1 percent or above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2-4 percent target range.
Rising food prices contributed to the year-on-year uptick on inflation last month, the Finance department said.
Meanwhile, the DOF projects a 0.35-percent increase on month-on-month inflation in June fueled by higher education cost during the opening of classes and rise in vegetable prices “that usually accompanies incessant rains at the onset of the wet season.”
The BSP’s monetary board last month decided to hike policy settings by another 25 basis points following a similar move last May in a bid to cool down inflation. But some analysts say more rate hikes are necessary to counter rising commodity prices.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee on Monday raised its inflation forecast to 4-4.5 percent this year from its previous estimate of 2-4 percent, but retained the 2-4 percent forecast for next year until 2020.
The DBCC also expects inflation to “taper off in the second half of the year.”
The government will release the June inflation data on July 5.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/07/03/1830208/dof-sees-faster-inflation-june#2zvrGazi54BGKlu2.99