THE increase in commodity prices is expected to exceed 7 percent in September, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in its month-ahead inflation forecast.
The Central Bank said inflation could be as low as 6.6 percent to as high as 7.4 percent in September on the back of high cost of food and electricity as well as the peso depreciation.
In August, inflation slowed to 6.3 percent from the 6.4 percent posted in July (Full story here: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/09/06/inflation-rate-slows-down-to-6-3-in-august-psa/). The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will release the latest inflation data next week.
“Inflation for the month is expected to be driven by the increase in electricity rates and prices of key food commodities, as well as by the depreciation of the peso. This could be offset in part by the decline in local fuel prices and lower meat prices,” the monetary authority said in a statement on Friday.
“Looking ahead, the BSP will continue to monitor very closely emerging price developments to enable timely intervention to prevent the further broadening of price pressures, in accordance with the BSP’s price stability mandate,” it added.
Based on the 2018 Consumer Price Index (CPI), food and non-alcoholic beverages had a weight of 37.75 percent while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels had a weight of 21.38 percent.
The Philippine peso, meanwhile, has been depreciating against the dollar. On Thursday, it closed at P58.97 to the greenback.
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