DOF sees March inflation of 4.1 percent

April 4, 2018

The Department of Finance (DOF) sees March inflation rising for the third straight month at 4.1 percent, up from the previous month's 3.98 percent using the 2012 base year.

This means that inflation will rise to a four-year high.

In its economic bulletin released on Wednesday, the DOF said: "The year-on-year change is dominated by sin products which rose by 22.45 percent and food and non-alcoholic beverages which rose by 5.25 percent."

"Sin products are significantly driving the inflationary pressure. Of the 4.1 percent forecast inflation rate for March, sin products account for as much as 0.5 percentage point, much higher than their contribution of only 0.16 percentage point in the same month last year," said the DOF.

The inflation figures will be released on Thursday. DMS