Philippines Inflation At 5-Month Low

Philippines’ inflation eased to the lowest in five months in April, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed on Tuesday.

The headline inflation rate slowed to 2.2 percent in April from 2.5 percent in March.

The latest inflation was the lowest since November, when it was 1.3 percent.

The latest inflation was mainly driven by fall in the transport index by 6.1 percent. This was the lowest inflation recorded since October 2015, the agency said.

The slowdown was driven by prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, clothing and footwear, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, health, communication, and restaurants and miscellaneous goods and services.

Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation slowed to 2.8 percent in April from 3.0 percent in the preceding month.

The year-to-date headline inflation was 2.6 percent and the core rate came in at 3.1 percent.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.1 percent in April, reversing a 0.1 percent rise in the prior month.

Separate data from the statistical office showed that the industrial production declined 11.3 percent annually in March, following a 1.0 percent fall in February.

The industrial production volume fell 6.3 percent year-on-year in March, after a 4.0 percent rise in the prior month.

The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com