BSP: February inflation expected to settle within gov't target

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects that the inflation rate for February 2024 in the country will fall within the range of 2.8% to 3.6%.

The central bank’s prediction of the inflation rate is within the 2.8% inflation print in January 2024. It is also within the range of the BSP’s inflation target of 2% to  4% for the first quarter of 2024.

The BSP said that ongoing increases in the prices of essential food items, like rice, meat and fish, are identified as the main factors capable of pushing inflation upward.

Increased petroleum prices and electricity rates also contributed to the upward pressures of inflation, according to the central bank.

February saw three oil price increases and two oil price rollbacks.

The Department of Energy attributed the previous oil price increases to the tensions in the Middle East which increased the premium risks of oil cargo firms.

Power concessionaire Meralco, meanwhile, increased its power rates by P0.5738 this month. On the other hand, BSP said that reduced costs of vegetables, fruits, and sugar may exert downward pressure on prices.

On February 6, the Philippine Statistics Authority attributed the ease of January inflation to the slower price increases of food and non-alcoholic beverages.

On February 15, BSP’s Monetary Board (MB) maintained its key policy rate at 6.5%, citing persisting upward inflationary pressures.

This is the third time the MB has retained its rate. The current 6.5% rate has been steady since October 2023.