Inflation Forecast in PH: An article by PhilStar Global reveals that Focus Economics, a provider of economic analysis, raised its inflation forecast for the Philippines to 3.9 percent from 3.4 percent. It is the second time the think tank raised its inflation prediction from its original projection of 3.1 percent last February.
Alexandros Petropoulos, Junion Economist at Focus Economics, states that the think tank has also increased its inflation forecast for 2022 to 3.1 percent from its former project of 3 percent.
Moreover, the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that inflation eased to 4.5 percent in March after quickening for five straight months to 4.7 percent in February. It averaged 4.5 percent from January to March as it continues to ‘breach the two to four percent target set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for 2021 and 2022. Read more: Inflation forecast hiked to 3.9%, an article by PhilStar Global.
“At this moment, there is really no evidence of any spillovers to other commodities apart from those that are subject to the supply shocks. And these commodities are few key food items including meat in particular,”states BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr.
“It should not really trigger an earlier than planned exit from the policy stimulus. What is important is the non-monetary measures that are being coordinated by the BSP with other government agencies,” he adds.
What is inflation? Inflation is the decline of purchasing power of a given currency over time. A quantitative estimate of the rate at which the decline in purchasing power occurs can be reflected in the increase of an average price level of a basket of selected goods and services in an economy over some period of time. The rise in the general level of prices, often expressed as a percentage, means that a unit of currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods. Inflation can be contrasted with deflation, which occurs when the purchasing power of money increases and prices decline (definition sourced from Investopedia). Read more: What is inflation, an article by Bank Rate.
