Inflation – the rate of increase in consumer prices – eased for the first time last month amid lower costs of food and fuel products, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed Wednesday.
The country’s inflation clocked in at six percent in November, slower compared to the nearly 10-year highs of 6.7 percent in the previous month, but higher than the three percent registered in the same month in 2017.
The actual November inflation is lower than market expectations of around 6.2 percent to 6.3 percent but within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas forecast of 5.8 percent to 6.6 percent.
Slowdowns in the annual increases were noted in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at eight percent; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 4.2 percent; and communication, 0.4 percent.
The education index, meanwhile, continued to post an annual rate of -3.8 percent while transport index retained its previous month’s 8.9 percent. The rest of the commodity groups exhibited higher annual mark-ups.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation continued to move upward as it settled to 5.1 percent in November from 4.9 percent in October and 2.4 percent in the same month last year.
The annual gain in food index further eased to 7.7 percent in November. In the previous month, its annual rate was noted at 9.2 percent and in November 2017, 3.1 percent.
The drop is food inflation was caused by the improvement in the supply of key agricultural commodities such as rice, fish and seafood, meat, vegetables, corn, and fruits.
Malacañang hailed the slowdown in the inflation rate and vowed to continue to ensure stable consumer prices.
“Inflation has slowed down, registering six percent in November, as per the report of the Philippine Statistics Authority. The Palace accepts this as good news,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.
Panelo attributed the lower inflation to President Duterte’s “empathy to public clamor” and his “decisive action” to stabilize the prices of agriculture and fishery products at reasonable levels as well as keep their sufficient supply in the markets.
To temper the soaring inflation rate, Duterte authorized in September the removal of non-tariff barriers, streamlining importation procedures for agricultural products and seamless transportation of the commodities from the port to the public markets.
“These measures address issues on food supply, among others, as there is a marked decrease in food inflation from 9.4 percent in October to eight percent in November. Prices of rice, corn, fish, meat, fruits, and vegetables have gone down,” Panelo said.
“We assure everyone that we will continue to be vigilant and monitor the prices of basic goods and commodities to ensure that hunger incidence and food insecurity are eradicated,” he added. (Chino S. Leyco and Genalyn D. Kabiling)
