MANILA – Inflation likely slowed to a range of 5.8 to 6.6 percent in November, slowing from the previous 2 months, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ think tank said.
Falling oil prices, the normalization of rice supply and the strengthening of the peso against the dollar caused price spikes to slow, the BSP’s Department of Economic Research said.
Higher jeep and bus fares and an increase in power rates will partly offset slower inflation in other commodities, it said.
“Moving forward, the BSP will remain watchful of economic and financial developments to ensure the achievement of its primary mandate of price stability conducive to balanced and sustainable economic growth,” the think tank said in a statement.
November inflation data is due out on Dec. 5.
Finance secretary Carlos Dominguez said Wednesday inflation would “taper off” towards the end of the year after holding at 6.7 percent in September and October.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas hiked the benchmark borrowing rate by a cumulative 1.75 percentage points this year in the face of rising prices. During its last policy meeting earlier this month, it lowered its inflation forecast for 2019. (With ABS-CBN News/PN)
