Philippine Inflation Accelerates to 7.2 Percent in September on Rice, Power and Fuel Costs
Philippine annual inflation accelerated to 7.2 percent in September from 6.1 percent in August, the statistics agency announced on October 6. Reuters reported the reading beat the 6.6 percent expected in its poll of economists and landed within the central bank's forecast range of 6.4 to 7.4 percent; core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was 4.7 percent.
The statistics agency attributed the rise to higher prices of rice, electricity and other fuels, and transport. BusinessWorld's earlier analysis pointed to bad weather pushing up prices of vegetables, fish, rice and fruit, alongside a weaker peso and higher domestic petroleum prices: in the second half of September, local regular milled rice averaged 49.97 pesos a kilo, up 25 percent year on year, while well-milled rice rose 19 percent to 56.07 pesos.
Inflation has now run above the central bank's 3 percent target for a seventh straight month. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas meets later this month, and markets are watching whether it answers price pressure with higher rates — a choice that directly affects borrowing costs and the peso.
For Chinese-Filipino households and businesses, rice, electricity and fuel are the big-ticket items: 7.2 percent inflation means continued cost pass-through for restaurants and retailers. The September spike was closely tied to typhoon-season supply disruptions, making the next readings — as the rainy season ends and supply normalizes — the ones to watch.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：菲律宾巴纳韦梯田。摄影：CEphoto, Uwe Aranas，CC BY-SA 3.0，取自 Wikimedia Commons
