Inflation hits all-time low anew

MANILA, Philippines – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Tuesday reported headline inflation recording another all-time low of 0.4 percent in September.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said the headline inflation rate continued to dip from 0.6 percent in August to 0.4 percent in September. It was 4.4 percent the same month last year.

NEDA said the tempered price movement in food, power and oil rates caused inflation to hit yet another low level.

“We expect the current low inflation environment exhibited in the first nine months of 2015 to persist throughout the rest of the year, more so, as international oil prices continue to remain low and are not expected to increase significantly in the near term,” Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

According to NEDA, the food subgroup declined from 1.1 percent to 0.7 percent in September due to slower price adjustments in majority of its sub-items which include breads, cereals, fish, fruits and rice.

On the other hand, other food subgroups showed slight upward price adjustments. Meat recorded a 0.4-percent increase from 0.3 percent while vegetables went up to 2.3 percent from 2 percent.

Non-food inflation was also reported to ease from 0.2 percent to -0.2 which contributed to the low power rates, lowering of gas and other fuel prices.

Core inflation, excluding selected volatile food and energy prices also dropped averaging 2.1 percent. It slid from 1.6 percent in August and 3.4 percent in September 2014 to 1.4 percent in September.

“The slowdown of core inflation further indicates that prices across a broad range of consumer items continue to remain stable,” Balisacan said.

The recorded inflation for the National Capital Region was also affected by the drop in September recording inflation of 0.1 percent from 0.2 percent. Other regions likewise fell from 0.8 percent to 0.4 percent.

Balisacan stressed that the government should remain cautious of the risks to inflation such as El Niño even if there are low oil prices to push for upside inflationary pressures.

“Government must ensure that food supply is sufficient by improving the level of inventories and efficiency of the distribution system. Continued monitoring of drought occurrence in agricultural areas is necessary to ensure timely policy actions, including importation of rice and other basic commodities to augment domestic supply,” Balisacan said.

Balisacan said the government may hire more agricultural workers and expand agriculture support structures to address the cost of transporting goods and services and diminish farm output losses.