Malacañang: Inflation drop ‘like magic’

NEW DELHI, India — Malacañang on Wednesday expressed confidence that the Philippines can sustain its declining inflation rate within the government’s target of 2 to 4 percent for fiscal year 2025 — barring any major global shocks.

In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said the administration is hopeful the trend will hold, especially if no major external disruptions occur.

“If there are no external conditions or circumstances that will affect this, then that good news can continue,” Castro said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that inflation eased further to 0.9 percent in July, down from 1.4 percent in June. This marked the lowest inflation figure since May 2020.

Among the key drivers of the slowdown were softer increases in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels. A decrease in the index of food and non-alcoholic beverages also contributed to the improvement.

While the Palace welcomed the development, Castro also warned that the outlook remains vulnerable to global headwinds.

“As I’ve said — and I’ve also heard this from several business groups — this really is good news. It’s like magic happened, because achieving this in the middle of so many economic pressures is no easy feat,” Castro said.

She pointed to ongoing geopolitical tensions — including the Israel-Iraq conflict, the war in Ukraine, and the US tariff hikes — as potential threats to global supply chains and commodity prices.