INFLATION rate snapped its four-month acceleration streak in June amid slower increases in utility and transportation costs during the period, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday, July 5.
National Statistician and PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa said inflation — which measures the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services — slowed down to 3.7% last month, a slight decline from the 3.9% rate in May.
This brought the year-to-date inflation print to clock in at 3.5%, falling within the government’s ceiling of 2% to 4%.
June’s inflation rate also fell within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) forecast range of 3.4% to 4.2% for the month.
Mapa attributed the easing of inflation rate last month to the slower increase in the inflation of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels, and Transport.
In particular, the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels Index contributed 65.8% to the decline in inflation rate in June.
The utilities index saw an inflation print of 0.1% from 0.9% in May.
The main contributor to the decline in utilities was the deflation in electricity costs to -13.6% from -8.5% month-on-month.
Meanwhile, the Transport index posted a rate of 3.1% last month, slower than 3.5% in May, and contributed 13.9% to the overall downtrend.
The slower year-on-year increase in gasoline prices at 2.3% inflation rate from 5.2% in the prior month was the primary factor in the slowdown in Transport index’s inflation rate.
Also contributing to the overall inflation decrease was the Restaurants and Accommodation Services index, which accounted for 7.4%.
The Restaurants and Accommodation Services index’s inflation print decelerated to 5.1% from 5.3% month-on-month.
Slower inflation rates were also seen in the following indices:
* Alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 3.8% from 4.2%
* Clothing and footwear at 3.2% from 3.4%
* Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance at 2.8% from 3.1%
* Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services at 3.2% from 3.4%
While overall inflation rate declined last month after four straight months of acceleration, Mapa said indicators are not yet clear if the slowdown seen in June will continue for the remaining months of 2024.
This as the heavy-weight Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index saw an increase of 6.1% from 5.8% month-on-month.
Moreover, food inflation, which tracks the movement of food items in a “basket” commonly purchased by households, rose to 6.5% in June from 6.1% in May — indicating that food prices remain elevated.
Mapa said the faster food inflation was brought by faster increases in vegetables and meat at 7.2% from 2.7% and at 3.1% from 1.6%, respectively. (GMA Integrated News)
