Oct inflation to settle within 0.5-1.3%
Credit to Author: Mayvelin U. Caraballo, TMT| Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2019 17:17:28 +0000
THE country’s inflation likely eased to as low as 0.5 percent or accelerated to as high as 1.3 percent, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Thursday.
The range projected by the central bank’s Department of Economic Research compares with September’s 0.9 percent, but is far lower than the 6.7 percent posted in October last year.
The projection comes days after the Union Bank of the Philippines forecast consumer price growth to hit 1.1 percent int the month.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is set to release official October inflation data on November 5.
“The increases in electricity and water rates, as well as higher prices of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and selected food items, are seen as the primary sources of upward price pressures for the month,” the BSP said in a statement.
The Manila Electric Co.’s per kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate for households consuming 200 kWh monthly increased by P0.0448 last month.
Also in October, Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. implemented a 69-centavos-per-cubic-meter (m3) and 13-centavos/m3 increase in water rates.
Energy companies raised the price of LPG by P4.46-P4.50 kilogram (kg), or about P49.50 a 11-kg cylinder. Auto LPG prices also grew by P2.50 a liter, according to the Department of Energy.
“Meanwhile, inflation could be tempered by lower domestic oil and rice prices,” the Bangko Sentral said.
Energy firms implemented a price rollback of 25-40 centavos per liter for gasoline, 10-15 centavos/liter for diesel and 25 centavos/liter for kerosene.
Latest PSA data show that rice prices fell in the first week of October, with the average retail price of regular milled rice dipping by 0.3 percent from P37.63 a kilogram the week before.
“Looking ahead, the BSP will remain watchful of evolving inflationary conditions to ensure that the monetary policy stance remains consistent with the BSP’s price stability mandate,” the central bank said.
On September 26, monetary authorities cut their 2019 inflation forecast to 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent, while 2020 and 2021 projections were both kept at 2.9 percent.