HEADLINE inflation in August eased to its slowest rate in seven months due to a slower rise in food and transport costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday, September 5.
Preliminary data from the agency showed the consumer price index eased by 3.3 percent year on year in August, slowing from the 4.4 percent in July and 5.3 percent last year.
This falls within the lower-end of the 3.2-to 4-percent forecast of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for the month, and lower compared to the 3.7 percent average inflation forecast in an Inquirer poll of 11 economists conducted last week.
“The deceleration of food inflation in August 2024 was primarily brought about by the slower inflation rate of rice with 14.7 percent in August 2024 from 20.9 percent in the previous month,” the PSA said.
Inflation print in August marked the slowest growth in seven months or since the 2.8 percent logged in January. Stripping out seasonality factors, month-on-month inflation fell by 0.1 percent in August.
For the first eight months, inflation averaged 3.6 percent, still lower from the 6.6 percent in August 2023.
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. welcomed the slowdown in inflation rate, citing the government’s steps in bringing down food prices.
“Ngayong araw, ipinagdiriwang natin ang isang tagumpay para sa bawat Pilipino. Bumagsak ang inflation sa 3.3 percent ngayong Agosto mula sa 4.4 percent noong Hulyo,” Marcos said in a statement posted on social media yesterday.
The President cited the government’s move to reduce rice tariffs, which he said brought rice inflation down from 20.9 percent to 14.7 percent, and meat inflation also eased from 4.8 percent to 4 percent.
He also vowed to expand the Kadiwa ng Pangulo program in the Visayas and Mindanao, as well as the rollout of the African Swine Fever vaccine to ensure ample pork supply and further bring down the prices of commodities.
Likewise, the President credited steps in ensuring stable oil prices. (Mariedel Irish U. Catilogo © Philippine Daily Inquirer / with a report from the Philippine News Agency)
