BSP PR/PNA
MANILA — The Philippines’ average inflation last year settled above the 2018 inflation target range, even as price pressures eased during the fourth quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revealed in its latest quarterly report released Friday.
Year-on-year headline inflation moderated to an average of 5.9 percent in Q4 2018 from the quarter-ago average of 6.2 percent. This brought the full-year average inflation rate to 5.2 percent, which is above the government’s target range of 3 percent ± 1.0 percentage point for the year.
Food inflation moderated during the fourth quarter as supply conditions improved for key food items. Meanwhile, non-food inflation also eased during the same quarter, as lower international oil prices exerted downward pressure on transport inflation through lower gasoline and diesel prices.
By contrast, core inflation rose to 4.9 percent in Q4 2018, higher than the rates posted in the previous quarter and a year ago. Similarly, the central bank’s three alternative measures for core inflation were higher during the quarter, the BSP added in its report covering the October-December 2018 period.
