Philippine Inflation Rate Eases to 4.7 Percent in July

PSA head Dennis Mapa said the main drivers that pulled down the July inflation were housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 4.5 percent from 5.6 percent in June; the food and non-alcoholic beverages at 6.3 percent from 6.7 percent; and transport, which decelerated to -4.7 percent from -3.1 percent in the previous month.

The July inflation brings the average inflation rate in the first seven months at 6.8 percent, higher than the 5 to 6 percent average inflation targets for 2023.

The core inflation, excluding selected food and energy data-x-items in the headline inflation, slowed to 6.7 percent in July, added Mapa.

"We are seeing a reduction in inflation rate since January, although the prices of some items, such as rice and vegetables, spiked," Mapa told a press conference.

"While we continue to experience a downtrend in inflation, we need to be vigilant, especially as we face increasingly volatile weather disturbances as well as external headwinds such as oil prices and trade restrictions on food," National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

The government has taken steps to deploy its resources to affected areas as well as prepare its policy and on-the-ground response as it expects more typhoons and weather disturbances from El Nino, said Balisacan.

The Manila-based Asian Development Bank forecasts inflation in the Philippines to average 6.2 percent in 2023 before easing to 4 percent in 2024.

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