In a press briefing yesterday, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said headline inflation – the rate of increase in the average prices of consumer goods and services commonly purchased by households –slowed to 3.7 percent in June from 3.9 percent in May and 5.4 percent in June 2023.MANILA, Philippines — Inflation eased in June to its lowest level in four months, driven by the slower uptick in energy and transport costs, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority .
The PSA attributed the downtrend in overall inflation to the slower increase in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels commodity group, at 0.1 percent in June from 0.9 percent in the previous month. While overall inflation eased in June, the National Economic and Development Authority said that rising food prices remain a concern as food inflation accelerated to 6.5 percent in June from 6.1 percent in May, driven by higher prices of vegetables and meat.
“We will continue to work closely with the government, stakeholders, and other priority sectors to implement necessary measures to ensure that the country will have a sufficient and affordable food supply – including rice – for every Filipino,” he said. “Moving forward, the BSP will ensure that monetary policy settings remain in line with its primary mandate to safeguard price stability conducive to sustainable economic growth,” the central bank said.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said inflation remains under control but the country could still “do better.” NBI Director Jaime Santiago told the Senate that “When we checked the fingerprints of Guo Hua Ping and compared it with...