MANILA – Consumers should start to feel the effects of government efforts to bring down the prices of basic commodities starting this month, an economic manager said Sunday.
Socioeconomic Planning secretary Ernesto Pernia said the Duterte administration’s moves to ease non-tariff barriers to the importation of rice and other food products would be felt in November.
“Maramdaman talaga ito siguro sa November, December at saka definitely sa 2019,” Pernia said referring to lower prices.
Pernia also said the inflation rate should go down to the government’s target range of 2 to 4 percent next year.
He said inflation has slowed down from September to October. With the harvest season arriving and imported ride and other food items starting to come in, prices of basic food items should come down, Pernia said in an interview with DZMM Teleradyo.
World oil prices have also been on a downtrend and now average between $63 to $65 per barrel, Pernia said.
The Department of Finance also said month-on-month inflation for October may have slumped to 0.05 percent from 0.8 percent last month, hardly moving from last month’s price level.
The DOF said inflation in October 2018 may have eased to 6.5 percent from the 6.7 percent in September.
“The month-on-month decrease in electricity rates helped temper the rise in fuel prices,” the DOF said in a statement.
The government is set to release official inflation figures on Tuesday, Nov. 6. (With ABS-CBN News/PN)
