Philippines: Inflation increases in October
Consumer prices rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.32% over the previous month in October amid higher food prices, picking up from September’s 0.08% rise.
Inflation inched up to 2.5% in October from September’s 2.3%, but remained within the government’s target range of 2.0%–4.0%. Meanwhile, the trend pointed up mildly, with annual average inflation coming in at 2.4% in October (September: 2.2%). Core inflation fell to 3.0% from September’s 3.2%.
Mild price pressures provide scope for the Central Bank to continue to adopt a highly accommodative stance to combat the Covid-19 fallout. The Central Bank reiterated it judges risks to the inflation outlook to be skewed to the downside, due to possible further Covid-19-induced disruptions to domestic and foreign activity.