Metro Manila, Philippines – The rate of increase in the prices of goods and services surged to 4.4% in July, the highest this year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The country’s headline inflation rose from the 3.7% in June and is also the highest in nine months, since the 4.1% in November. It was also a nine-month high, and beyond the government target of 2-4%
In a press briefing on Tuesday, PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the increase in overall inflation was mainly driven by rising costs in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.
This category saw an inflation rate of 2.3%, up from 0.1% in June, and was responsible for 70.4% of the overall inflationary trend.
“Ang pangunahing nag-ambag sa pagtaas ng inflation ng housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels ay ang mas mabagal na pagtaas ng presyo ng kuryente na may 5.4% inflation,” Mapa explained.
[Translation: The main contributor to the rise in inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels was the slower increase in electricity prices, which had a 5.4% inflation rate.]
He said this was expected, considering the increase in electricity rates in July. The 20.2% spike in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products was also a factor in the increase.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, which posted a 6.4% inflation rate in July, accounted for 17% of the overall acceleration in prices. Meanwhile, transport costs, with a 3.6% inflation rate, contributed 6.8% to the price increase.
Inflation quickened in Metro Manila and 13 other regions, while it eased only in Bicol, Western Visayas, and Eastern Visayas. The highest inflation rate of 5.7% was recorded in Northern Mindanao and the Bangsamoro region.
Meanwhile, the inflation rate for the bottom 30% income households was at 5.8%.
Outlook
Mapa suggested that the recent increase in vegetable prices might be reflecting the impact of past typhoons – but this could be more evident this month.
“May mga expectation tayo na may mga commodity groups na magtaas ng presyo sa August…Yung ating historical data, normally doon nga sa commodity items related to vegetables,” Mapa said.
[Translation: We expect some commodity groups to see price increases in August. Our historical data shows that this typically happens with commodity items related to vegetables.]
He said there is a possible decline in rice prices due to lower tariffs on the staple.
