Monetary Board to tackle economic developments Thursday

February 5, 2020

The Monetary Board will consider the latest economic developments, including the eight-month high inflation rate, when it meets on Thursday.

January inflation came in at 2.9 percent from 2.5 percent in December, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday. 

''The higher inflation outturn, which was within the BSP's expected range of 2.5-3.3 percent for the month, was also close to the midpoint of the government's inflation target range of 3.0 percent ± 1.0 percentage point for the year.'' the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Wednesday.

''The latest inflation outturn is in line with the BSP's prevailing assessment that inflation will gradually pick up to approach the midpoint of the Government's 2-4 percent target range in 2020 and 2021,'' the BSP added.

Core inflation—which excludes selected volatile food and energy items to measure underlying price pressures—rose to 3.3 percent in January 2020 from 3.1 percent in the previous month, the BSP said.

Year-on-year inflation rates of most key food items such as meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables increased during the month as weather-related disturbances affected domestic suppiy conditions.

Implementation of the higher excise tax on tobacco products also drove inflation higher in January, the BSP said.

Upward price adjustments of domestic petroleum products also contributed to higher non-food inflation during the month, it added. DMS