Inflation eases for 5th straight month in March at 3.3%

Inflation or the pace of increase in the prices of goods and services continued its downtrend in March, marking its fifth consecutive month of slowdown, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

Inflation clocked in at 3.3 percent, slower than the 3.8 percent in February.

This also compares with the 4.3 percent recorded in March 2018. The latest inflation print falls within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' forecast of 3.1 percent to 3.9 percent range.

“This is the lowest inflation rate since January 2018,” PSA Assistant Secretary Josie Perez said at a press conference in Quezon City.

The latest figure marked the fifth straight month in the annual inflation rate after it was reported at 6.7 percent in October 2018, the fastest in over nine years since the 7.2 percent in February 2009.

"The main drivers in the downtrend of inflation in March 2019 were food and non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages and tobacco. These are the commodity groups which recorded the biggest slowdowns in inflation rates in March 2019, compared with their annual rates in February 2019," Perez said.

For food and non-alcoholic beverages, there were slowdowns recorded in the increase in prices of rice, corn, fish, oils and fats, fruits, vegetables; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate, and confectionery.

Perez noted that the weak El Niño being experienced in the country has not yet affected prices last month.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), inflation decelerated further to 3.3 percent from 3.8 percent in February and 5.2 percent in March 2018.

A lower inflation in areas outside NCR (AONCR) at 3.4 percent was also registered during the month from 3.8 percent in the previous month and 4.1 percent year-on-year.

"All the regions in AONCR had slower annual growths in March 2019, except in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) which retained its previous month’s annual rate of 2.5 percent," Perez said.

"The lowest inflation among the regions in AONCR during the month was recorded in Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) at 2.0 percent, while the highest annual rate remained in MIMAROPA Region at 4.8 percent," she said. — MDM, GMA News