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Philippines: Inflation stays at 3% in February despite consecutive fuel price hikes
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 4) — Inflation remained steady at 3% in February despite weeks of fuel price increases, Philippine Statistics Authority figures published Friday show.
The latest outturn is the same as January’s and milder than 4.2% in February 2021, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a briefing. It also falls within the 2.8-3.6% range pegged by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for the month.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels mainly drove the pace at which prices of goods rose last month, he added. Electricity, LPG, and rentals recorded faster increases.
Transport was the second major contributor, primarily due to quicker inflation for gasoline, diesel, and fares for other passenger road transport like tricycles.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages likewise contributed to February’s pace. Fish and other seafood saw slower inflation during the month, while corn and rice logged faster rates.
Recreation, sport and culture also saw inflation quicken last month, added Mapa. Meanwhile, commodity groups like alcoholic drinks, clothing, household equipment and furnishing, health, information and communication observed milder price increases.
Inflation was steady for education, financial, and personal care services in February, according to the PSA chief.
The National Capital Region registered a 1.9% inflation rate, accelerating from 1.3% in January.
Inflation stood at 3.4% outside the NCR this February, slower than 3.5% at the start of 2022.
Central Visayas led the seven regions posting faster inflation rates during the stretch at 5.1%. BARMM, meanwhile, had the mildest pace among nine regions which saw inflation decelerate at 1.6%.
The country’s poorest households observed a 2.7% inflation rate compared to 3.2% in January, bringing average inflation to 2.9%. However, this income group still uses 2012 as base year unlike other inflation figures which have been rebased already to 2018.
Surging fuel prices seen to push inflation up
Asked on the impact of rising oil costs, Mapa stressed that this is already being seen in subgroups such as transport and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.
However, it has yet to be seen on other subgroups such as food since other factors could also play a role.
For instance, fruits and vegetables logged negative inflation this February due to the base effect from 2021 wherein prices of these goods increased rapidly. Supply also improved this time around, he added.
The BSP acknowledged that inflation could “accelerate over near term due to higher oil prices as well as the impact of positive base effects.” It also flagged the global and local macroeconomic uncertainty given this uptick caused by recent tensions abroad.
“Under these circumstances, the BSP will continue to closely monitor the emerging risks to the outlook for inflation and remain vigilant against possible second-round effects from supply-side pressures or any shifts in the public’s inflation expectations,” it said.
The central bank also assured it “continues to have a wide arsenal” of policy instruments to respond to any possible impact from such external shock.
ING senior economist Nicholas Mapa separately said that inflation may breach the government target by May, noting this could prompt the BSP to finally hike interest rates by mid-second quarter.
Source: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2022/3/4/inflation-February-2022.html