Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Headline inflation continued to slow down in June this year, reaching it’s lowest level in 20 years, according to figures from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The figure stood at 1.2%, slightly lower than May’s 1.6%, which was also a record low. Likewise, June’s rate stands within the lower half of the government’s 1.1%-2.0% forecast.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also fell to 2.0% in June from 2.2% the previous month. “On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, inflation decreased to -0.1 percent in June,” the BSP said in a statement,
June’s deceleration was attributed to slower food inflation, driven by price increases in food items such as rice, meat, fish, oils, and fruits. On the other hand, prices of corn and vegetables declined compared to the same period last year.
Non-food inflation was broadly steady at 0.4% from May’s 0.3%. “Inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels continued to post a decline due to downward adjustments of domestic petroleum prices and electricity rates during the month.”
The BSP also noted the prices of water supply and other services related to dwelling went up because of higher water charges during the month.
“For the first semester of 2015, inflation rate averaged 2% so as to approach the lower bound of the official target,” the Department of Finance said in a statement.
