MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Philippine central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), said headline inflation slowed down to 2.2 percent year-on-year in April from 2.4 percent in March, thanks to a slower increases in food prices.
In a statement posted on its website, the BSP said the April inflation rate was within the BSP’s range forecast of 1.9-2.8 percent for the month.
“This brought the year-to-date average inflation rate to 2.3 percent, within the Government’s inflation range target of 3.0 percent ± 1.0 percentage point for 2015,” the BSP said.
Similarly, core inflation—which excludes certain volatile food and energy items to better capture underlying price pressures—eased to 2.5 percent in April from 2.7 percent in the previous month.
On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, inflation was steady at 0.1 percent in April.
“The continued deceleration of headline inflation in April was driven largely by the slower increases in food prices. In particular, food inflation edged lower as most food commodities, particularly rice, corn, meat, milk, oils, and fruits posted lower price increases due to ample domestic supply,” the central bank said.
Likewise, non-food inflation eased slightly as a result of the continued decline in electricity rates and domestic petroleum prices in year-on-year terms as well the slower price increases in clothing and footwear items, health-related products and services, and restaurants and miscellaneous goods and services.
“The inflation reading for April continues to support the BSP’s assessment of a manageable inflation environment over the policy horizon. Going forward, the BSP will continue to closely monitor developments in both the global and domestic fronts to ensure price stability conducive to balanced and sustainable economic growth,” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said. – BusinessNewsAsia.com