Central bank sees December inflation “within 5.2 to 6 percent”

December 28, 2018

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday inflation in December is projected to settle "within the 5.2 to 6 percent".

" The sustained slowdown of inflation during the month is seen to be driven mainly by the continued decline in petroleum and rice prices, the rollback in minimum jeepney fare, and the slight appreciation of the peso," said the central bank 's Department of Economic Research on Friday.

"However, these factors could be offset in part by higher electricity rates in Meralco-serviced areas," it added.

The central bank raised policy rates by 1.75 percentage points as inflation rose for nine straight months, hitting a near-decade high of 6.7 percent in September.

After remaining unchanged in October, the inflation rate fell to six percent in November.

However, the central bank said it will " continue to closely monitor evolving price trends and domestic demand condition to help ensure that the inflation target is achieved.”

In September, soaring inflation led the central bank to raise the 2018 inflation forecast hiked to 5.2 percent from 4.9 percent and 2019 target to 4.3 percent from 3.7 percent. DMS