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FOUR
prime factors are now pushing inflation higher each
month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on
Monday.
The
latest contributor to the worsening price conditions is
the weak peso that on Monday lost an average of 14
centavos against the US dollar to P44.896 from P44.756
on Friday.
Deputy
BSP Governor and officer in charge Armando Suratos cited
the fourth factor in a text message to reporters in
which he forecast inflation in June to range from 10.4
percent up to 11.2 percent.
Suratos said the weaker peso has made the importation of
a number of commodities more expensive than ever and
adds to the impact of three others on prices as a whole.
The
other factors include crude-oil prices that translate to
higher pump prices; the wage and cost-of-living
adjustments; and the increase in the price of rice and
vegetables.
Data
show the peso slowly fell from a position of strength in
January this year when it averaged P40.93.81 per dollar
to P44.256 in June.
The
peso now requires importers to raise more local currency
than before to purchase the same amount of foreign
goods.
Inflation was expected to range in double-digit levels
of 10 percent to 12 percent from June to September.
BSP
Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. earlier said the inflation
outlook was a humped shape, or gradually rising in the
first half but which should fall by the second half.
The
outlook for inflation now is to plateau over the next
few months rather than taper off, according to Tetangco. |
