MANILA – Inflation likely accelerated in December but still within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ two to four percent goal, an analyst said Monday.
December inflation could settle at 2.1 percent as the effect of a high base from the previous year fades, said RCBC head of Economics and Industry Research Michael Ricafort.
“We have the peak inflation at 6.7 percent in October 2018. It has already eased thereafter so that would result in some upward normalization in inflation,” Ricafort said.
A “prudent” Bangko Sentral will consider global risks when
making any policy decisions this year, he said.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s expected signing of the P4.1 trillion budget on
Monday is a “positive catalyst” for the country’s gross domestic product
growth, Ricafort said.
Ricafort said the economy likely grew 6.6 to 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 and could grow seven percent in the first and second quarters of 2020. (ABS-CBN News)
