The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the headline inflation in the country retained the 3% in January 2022 and is slower than the 4.2% in February 2021.
The latest figure brings the year-to-date inflation at 3% which is within the government target of 2 to 4%.
In a virtual briefing, national statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said the inflation was driven mostly by utility rates and energy prices.
Mapa attributed this to the continuous rise in electricity rates with 13.5% inflation, liquefied petroleum gas at 17.6%, and house rent at 1.4%.
For February, the PSA said food inflation decelerated to 1.1% from 1.6%, down from the 6.8% during the same period last year.
Economic analyst Astro del Castillo pointed out that although eased restrictions under Alert Level 1 may help boost the economy, the inflation rate in March is projected to rise due to the Ukraine crisis.
Meanwhile, the inflation in the National Capital Region accelerated to 1.9% from the 1.3% in January 2022.
This was due to “higher annual growth rates” in the indices of furnishing, household equipment, and routine household maintenance at 2.2%, transport at 7.9%, information and communication at 0.6%, restaurants and accommodation services at 3.7%, and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services at 1.4%. – Report from Gillian Geronimo/AG – bny
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