February 6th, 12:07am February 5th, 10:44pm Joshua Lao

The country is back within sight of meeting its 2 to 4 percent inflation target following corrective measures implemented by President Rodrigo Duterte’s team.

More stable prices of basic goods and necessities have driven inflation down to 4.4 percent as the country’s economy continues showing improvement after a short spike late last year.

This was bared Tuesday by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) which cited a lower inflation rate for the month of January 2019.

“The Philippines’ annual headline inflation at the beginning of 2019 continued to move at a slower pace of 4.4 percent. This is the lowest annual rate since March 2018,” the PSA said.

Also, the posted print for the first month of 2019 fell within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) earlier forecast of 4.3 to 5.1 percent while the market consensus listed a slightly higher outlook at 4.5 percent.

The 4.4 percent rate in January 2019 reflected the government’s firm commitment to arrest inflation within its two to four percent target despite being higher than the registered 3.4 percent in the same month year-ago.

Data from the PSA show that this improved January inflation figure can be attributed to the decline in the annual indices among commodity groups, particularly food and non-alcoholic beverages, which stood at 5.6 percent from the previous 6.8 percent.

Similarly, alcoholic beverages and tobacco exhibited a downtrend at 16.1 percent for the month of January 2019, significantly lower than the recorded 21.7 percent in December 2018.

Housing and other utilities such as water, electricity, gas and other fuels showed a similar trend as they slightly dipped at 4.0 percent from the 4.1 percent in the same comparable period.

Moreover, inflation rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) improved at 4.6 percent in January 2019 versus the 4.8 percent in December 2018.

Areas outside NCR likewise displayed a lower print at 4.4 percent compared to the previous 5.3 percent.

The BSP expressed its positive sentiment with the latest inflation figure as it confirmed their earlier month-ahead outlook.

“The latest inflation outturn is in line with a target-consistent inflation path as inflation rate is projected to decelerate further in 2019 to 2020,” the BSP said in a statement.

“Domestic supply-side pressures are seen to further ease while the impact of BSP monetary policy adjustments in 2018 is expected to continue to work their way through the economy,” it added.

The central bank then recognized the persisting volatility in the global oil market as it is perceived to affect the inflation outlook.

“Against this backdrop, the BSP continues to keep a close watch over price developments in the country and shall consider all relevant information at its next monetary policy meeting on 7 February 2019 to ensure that the monetary policy stance remains consistent with the BSP’s primary mandate of price stability,” it said.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo. (RTVM image)

The President’s economic team, meanwhile, vowed to remain “on guard” and focused on ensuring that prices of basic goods are further slowed down, Malacañang assured the public on Tuesday.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo, in a statement, said the Palace is “pleased with the good news” of a lower inflation rate.

“Last year, soaring prices caused by uncontrollable factors tested our will as a nation. Not disheartened nor cowed, we rose to the challenge as a people. With the President’s strong and decisive action, we remained focused and steadfast as we addressed the conditions that contributed significantly to inflation,” the official said.

The country’s inflation rate slowed down to 4.4 percent last month from 5.1 percent in December amid the tapered down prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, clothing and footwear, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, health and transport.

The BSP has pegged the annual inflation rate at 3.2 percent this year from 5.2 percent in 2018. The government’s target, meanwhile, is between 2 percent and 4 percent.

Panelo guaranteed that the government’s economic managers will not rest to ensure the effects of the lowered inflation “would be felt by the ordinary consumer.”

“We will remain on guard in monitoring the prices of basic goods and commodities as we aim to mitigate poverty and hunger, driven by the President’s economic goal to lay down and build the foundation to a comfortable life for the present and future generations,” the official said.