INFLATION or the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services decelerated slightly in September mainly on slower increase in transportation cost during the month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.
At a virtual press briefing, PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa reported that inflation last month clocked in at 4.8 percent.
This is slower than the 4.9 percent rate recorded in August, but faster than the 2.3 percent rate recorded in September 2020.
September’s inflation print settled within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) forecast range of 4.9 percent to 5.6 percent.
Last month’s figures also brought the year-to-date average at 4.5 percent, still above the government’s target ceiling of two to four percent.
Inflation could remain elevated in the near term before decelerating to within the target range of two percent to four percent by the end of the year, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno told reporters.
The central bank chief said inflation is projected to settle close to the midpoint of the target range in 2022 and 2023 with inflation expectations remaining firmly anchored to the target.
“Ang pangunahing dahilan ng pagbagal ng antas ng inflation nitong Setyembre 2021 ay ang mas mabagal na paggalaw ng presyo ng Transport na may 5.2 percent inflation at 55.8 percent share sa pagbaba ng pangkalahatang inflation sa bansa,” Mapa said.
Transport index’s inflation print in August was 7.2 percent.
“Ito ay dahil sa mas mabagal na pagtaas ng presyo ng mga pamasahe sa tricycle, na may inflation na 2.7 percent, pamasahe sa jeep, na may 1.2 percent inflation, at pamasahe sa bus, na may inflation na 0.9 percent,” he said.
In particular, August’s inflation rates for tricycle fare, jeepney fare, and bus fare were nine percent, 3.9 percent, and 0.9 percent, respectively.
The second commodity group which saw a downtrend last month was the food and non-alcoholic beverages index with 6.2 percent inflation from 6.5 percent in August and had a 39.9 percent share to the overall slowdown. (GMA News)
