BSP sees November inflation easing to 1.1–1.9%

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) projects November inflation to settle within 1.1 to 1.9 percent, remaining below the central bank’s 2 to 4 percent target range for the year.

In a Friday, 28 November press release, the BSP said recent typhoons Tino, Uwan, and Verdana contributed to higher food prices.

“Upward price pressures for the month reflect in part the impact of inclement weather as prices of rice, fish, and fruits increased,” the central bank said. “Higher electricity and oil prices, as well as the depreciation of the peso, could also contribute to price pressures.”

The BSP noted, however, that lower prices of meat and vegetables may partially offset these increases.

Low inflation provides the central bank some room to implement a potential cut in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR)—a move that, if timed correctly, could help stimulate economic activity amid the broader slowdown caused by the ongoing investigations into the flood-control scandal.

“I think we can still reduce [the RRR]. The timing depends partly on how successful we are on normalizing liquidity in the market,” BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. said earlier this week in Panglao, Bohol.

Remolona added that inflation expectations remain “well-anchored,” though the BSP continues to “measure the degree of anchoring more precisely.”

The central bank said it will continue monitoring domestic and external developments affecting the inflation and growth outlook, consistent with its data-dependent approach to monetary policy.