March inflation soars to 4.3 percent from 3.8 in February

April 5, 2018

Inflation in March accelerated to 4.3 percent due to double-digit increases in food, alcoholic beverage and tobacco from 3.8 percent in February, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday.

On a year-ago basis, inflation was at 3.1 percent, the PSA added.

In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it continues to expect inflation to average near the high-end of the target range in 2018 before going down to the midpoint of the target range in 2019.

"The elevated path of inflation in 2018 along with rising inflation expectations will be continually assessed to guard against potential second-round effects from developing and inflation becoming broader based," the central bank said. It kept its policy rate of three percent last March.

"The BSP’s decision on the monetary policy stance will remain data-dependent," the central bank added.

The central bank has set a target range of 2-4 percent for inflation from 2017-2020.

The alcoholic beverages and tobacco index rose 18.6 percent while the food and non-alcoholic beverages group increased 5.9 percent.

The annual inflation in the food alone index increased by 5.7 percent in March. It was pegged at 4.8 percent in February and 3.1 percent during the same month a year ago. DMS