by Kris Crismundo/PNA
MANILA — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has seen inflation going on a sustained slowdown this month due to declining prices of petroleum products and rice.
The BSP Department of Economic Research (DER) projects inflation rate to settle between 5.2 percent and 6 percent this December.
“The sustained slowdown of inflation during the month is seen to be driven mainly by the continued decline in petroleum and rice prices, the rollback in minimum jeepney fare, and the slight appreciation of the peso,” the BSP-DER said in a statement Friday.
So far, oil firms slashed prices of diesel and kerosene for 11 consecutive weeks. For the past 11 weeks, gasoline prices declined for 10 weeks and slight increased for a week.
Last month, inflation eased to 6 percent from a high of 6.7 percent in September and October.
“However, this factor could be offset in part by higher electricity rates in Meralco-serviced areas,” the BSP-DER added.
Early this month, the Manila Electric Co. announced that power rates will increase by PHP0.902 per kilowatt hour, bringing electricity rates for December at PHP10.1803 per kWh.
“Moving forward, the BSP will continue to closely monitor evolving price trends and domestic demand conditions to help ensure that the inflation target is achieved,” the central bank said.
