By Chino Leyco and Genalyn Kabiling
The rate of increase in consumer prices further slowed down in February, falling within the Duterte administration’s target range.
Customers buy vegetables at a market in Manila, January 4, 2019. (Czar Dancel / MANILA BULLETIN)
Malacañang has lauded the continued drop in the country’s inflation rate and vowed to remain vigilant in monitoring consumer prices.
"Inflation continues to drop, as we predicted, with the February 2019 figure showing its fourth month of deceleration at 3.8 percent,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said.
"The Palace welcomes this positive development as proof that the macroeconomic policies of the Duterte Administration have been effective in addressing soaring prices,” he added.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) had earlier announced the country’s inflation has further slowed down to 3.8 percent in February, compared to the 4.4 percent recorded last January. The figure, considered the lowest inflation rate since March 2018, marked the return to the government’s 2 to 4 parent target for the year.
The Palace remained optimistic the inflation would continue to ease.
"We expect further improvement and disinflation as we continue to remain vigilant in monitoring the prices of basic goods used by ordinary Filipino consumers,” Panelo said.
Amid lower food and transportation prices, the headline inflation settled at 3.8 percent in February, slower compared with 4.4 percent in the previous month, the PSA announced on Tuesday.
Last month’s inflation brought the year-to-date headline rate at 4.1 percent, still slightly above the government’s target range for the year of 2.0 percent to 4.0 percent.
Slower inflation in rice, corn, milk, cheese, eggs, vegetables, alcoholic beverages and transportation contributed to the cooling of the headline rate, data from the PSA showed.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation eased further to 3.9 percent in February from 4.4 percent in the previous month.