By Katherine K. Chan, Reporter
PHILIPPINE INFLATION likely held steady in January as lower electricity charges and easing vegetable prices helped offset pressures from higher food and fuel costs and a weaker peso, economists said ahead of official data.
A BusinessWorld survey of 18 economists yielded a median forecast of 1.8% for the January consumer price index, within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 1.4% to 2.2% projection for the month. That means inflation would be unchanged from December and slower than 2.9% a year earlier.
“Headline inflation likely remained steady at 1.8% year on year in January, implying a 0.5% month-on-month increase, as food and energy pressures offset easing utility and vegetable costs,” Bank of the Philippine Islands Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri, Jr. said in a commentary.
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