August 4 ------ HEADLINE INFLATION may have accelerated in July, possibly ending seven straight months of within-target inflation, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. The central bank’s month-ahead forecast showed that inflation likely settled within the 4%-to-4.8% range in July. This would be faster than the 3.7% print in June. Inflation stood at 4.7% in July 2023.
Inflation has been within the 2-4% target from December 2023 to June 2024. The central bank previously said that inflation could temporarily overshoot the target band in July before returning to target by August. The Philippine Statistics Authority is scheduled to release July inflation data on Aug. 6. “Higher electricity rates along with the increased prices for agricultural commodities like vegetables, meat, and fruits along with higher domestic oil prices are the primary sources of upward price pressures for the month,” the BSP said.
In July, households served by Manila Electric Co. saw an upward adjustment of P2.1496 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in the electricity rate for the month. This brought the overall rate for a typical household to P11.6012 from the previous month’s P9.4516 per kWh. Pump price adjustments stood at a net increase of P1.30 a liter for gasoline for the month of July. Meanwhile, diesel and kerosene had a net decrease of P0.90 and P1.70, respectively, per liter. “These factors are expected to be offset in part by lower rice and fruit prices along with the peso appreciation,” the BSP said.
The average price of a kilogram of well-milled rice ranged from P45-P55 as of end July from P48-P55 at end-June. Regular milled rice was priced at P45-P50 from P45-P52. Rice inflation eased to 22.5% in June from 23% a month ago, marking the third straight month of slower rice inflation. The peso appreciated to P58.365 per dollar on July 31, strengthening by 24.5 centavos from its P58.61 finish on June 28.
Source: bworldonline.com
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