Palace sees further drop in inflation rate this 2019

Consumers buy fresh vegetables at a public market in Manila. ABS-CBN NEWS

MANILA – The Malacañang on Tuesday said it expects further easing of commodity price increases after the inflation rate in February settled within the government’s target for the year.

Inflation clocked in at 3.8 percent last month, the slowest since the 4.3 percent in March 2018, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

PSA assistant secretary Josie Perez said the slowdown in February was driven by the drop in prices of three indices – food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and transport.

“The Palace welcomes this positive development as proof that the macroeconomic policies of the Duterte administration have been effective in addressing soaring prices,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.

“We expect further improvement and disinflation as we continue to remain vigilant in monitoring the prices of basic goods used by ordinary Filipino consumers,” he said.

The Duterte administration’s economic team expects inflation to settle at 2 to 4 percent in 2019 from 5.2 percent last year, which was the fastest in 11 years since hitting 8.2 percent in 2008. (GMA News)

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