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Philippines inflation slowed to 5-month low in April
The country’s headline inflation further decelerated to a five-month low of 2.2 percent in April from 2.5 percent the month before on the back of lower oil prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.
The statistics agency said consumer price growth last month was the slowest since the 1.3 percent posted in November and slower than the 3.0 percent a year earlier.
The newest figure was higher than the 2.0-percent average forecast of economists polled by The Manila Times and falls within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ projected range of between 1.9 percent and 2.7 percent for the month.
National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa attributed the slower increase in the prices of goods and services in April to the drop in the annual rate of the transport index, which hit 6.1 percent.
“Specifically, [an] annual decline was observed in petroleum and fuels for personal transport equipment at -28.6 percent in April 2020 from -12.3 percent in March 2020,” he said.
Slower annual mark-ups were also seen in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 17.9 percent; clothing and footwear, 2.6 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 0.3 percent; health, 2.8 percent; communication, 0.3 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 2.4 percent.
In contrast, the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index had a higher annual increment of 3.4 percent.
Food groups with higher annual growth rates in the month were fruits; vegetables; food products not elsewhere classified, such as ginger and calamansi; oils and fats; and milk, cheese and eggs.
Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items also eased to 2.8 percent in April from 3.0 percent a month earlier and 3.4 percent year-on-year.
Year-to-date, headline inflation settled at 2.6 percent, well within the 2- to 4-percent target of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Source: https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/05/06/business/business-top/ph-inflation-slowed-to-5-month-low-in-april/722966/