Inflation Rate For February 2019 Only At 3.8%
The Philippine Statistics Authority announced on Tuesday that inflation has slowed down in February, from 4.4% in January to just 3.8% in February. The deceleration can be attributed to food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and transport.
This is the first time the current government is able to hit its 2-4 percent inflation target after a year and is the lowest price increase of basic goods in a year. This is the fourth consecutive month that inflation slowed after an episode of higher-than-usual inflation last year. The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law has been blamed for the price spikes last year, which peaked at 6.7 percent in September and October.
The newly-appointed Central Bank Governor Ben Diokno said in an interview:
“Just as we thought, inflation is decelerating. 3.8% for February beats most forecasts. This gives us confidence that our medium-term inflation forecast ranging 2-4% is appropriate.”
In a separate statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that Malacañang welcomed what it called the “predicted” drop in inflation, attributing it to the relentless efforts of the government to lower the prices of basic goods. He added that this positive development is proof that the macroeconomic policies of the Duterte administration have been effective in addressing soaring prices and that they expect further inflation.
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