June inflation likely between 2.2-3.0%
Credit to Author: MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT| Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2019 16:20:41 +0000
INFLATION likely eased to between 2.2 and 3.0 percent this month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday.
In a statement, the central bank said its Department of Economic Research projected consumer price growth “to settle within” the said range in June, lower than the 5.2 percent posted a year ago.
Headline inflation rose to a two-month high of 3.2 percent in May from 3.0 percent in April.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is set to release official June inflation data on July 5.
The BSP said “lower rice and domestic oil prices, along with [the] downward adjustment in electricity rates and recent peso appreciation, are seen to temper inflation pressure during the month.”
Latest PSA data show that prices of the staple decreased in the second week of June, with the average wholesale price dipping by 0.4 percent from P39.28 per kilogram the week before.
According to the Department of Energy, most oil companies implemented a per-liter price increase of 30 centavos for gasoline, 55 centavos for diesel and 45 centavos for kerosene effective on Wednesday.
On the other hand, the Manila Electric Co.’s per kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate for households consuming 200 kWh monthly was trimmed by P0.1948 last month.
The local currency, meanwhile, is currently trading against the dollar within the P51:$1 level.
“Going forward, the BSP will remain watchful of the evolving inflation environment to ensure that the monetary policy stance remains consistent with the BSP’s price stability mandate,” the central bank said.
The Bangko Sentral started easing its monetary policy settings on May 9, but decided to take a “prudent pause” on June 20 by keeping its overnight borrowing, lending and deposit rates at 4.50 percent, 5.00 percent and 4.00 percent, respectively.
Despite the pause, monetary authorities cut their 2019 inflation forecast to 2.7 percent from 2.9 percent, and their 2020 projection to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent.
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