- Published on Wednesday, 05 December 2012 21:30
- Written by Max V. de Leon / Reporter
The abundant
supply of some food products caused the average increase in the prices
of goods and services in the country to ease further to 2.8 percent in
November, putting the year-to-date inflation rate at 3.2 percent.
The November inflation rate was the lowest in the last five months and was way below the year-ago inflation of 4.7 percent.
“It
resulted from the deceleration in the annual growths posted in the
indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; housing, water,
electricity, gas and other fuels; and transport. Excluding [select] food
and energy items, core inflation was pegged at 3.4 percent in November,
slower compared to the 3.6-percent growth in October,” the National
Statistics Office (NSO) reported on Wednesday.
Rolando
G. Tungpalan, officer in charge of the National Economic and
Development Authority (Neda), said also on Wednesday that the abundant
supply of agriculture and fishery products in November 2012 resulted in
greater annual reductions in the prices of various food items compared
to the previous month.
Slower
increase in prices was observed in major food items such as fish (5.9
percent in November 2012 from 6.0 percent in October 2012), milk, cheese
and eggs (3.3 percent from 3.4 percent), and fruits (4.9 percent from
5.2 percent). This was also coupled with the decline in prices of
vegetables (-5.3 percent from -0.1 percent) and oils and fats (-4.9
percent from -4.5 percent).
“Slower
increases of prices in electricity, gas and other fuels were also
observed in November 2012 [3.1 percent from 4.9 percent last year] due
to the contraction in Manila Electric Co.’s [Meralco] generation charge
and the lower prices of kerosene and diesel,” Tungpalan said.
Citing industry sources, he added that Meralco’s generation charge in November
2012 was lower by 2.7 percent (P0.16 per kilowatt-hour) against the
same period in 2011 due to lower generation costs from suppliers.
The prices of kerosene
also slowed down, falling by 2.5 percent in November 2012 from an
increase of 3.5 percent in October 2012. Furthermore, diesel prices
fell by 4.6 percent from 3.1 percent.
Tungpalan
said the average inflation from January to November 2012 remains within
the Development Budget Coordinating Committee’s target range of 3.0
percent to 5.0 percent for 2012.
He added that the
lower core inflation, which excludes food and energy items, implies an
easing of demand pressures on consumer prices.
“With
the continued benign price increases for the period, we are expecting
that inflation should be manageable for the rest of the year,” Tungpalan
said.
Inflation
is the rate of increase in prices of goods and services commonly
purchased by households, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
On the other hand, core inflation represents a more long-term inflation
trend, as it excludes certain items that have short-term and volatile
price movements.
The
NSO said prices of goods and services in Metro Manila (National Capital
Region, or NCR) only increased by 2.6 percent in November compared to
2.9 percent in October, while inflation in areas outside of NCR settled
to 2.9 percent from 3.3 percent in October.
Malacañang
is “pleased” with the country’s 2.8-percent inflation rate in November,
from 3.1 percent in October, which it obtained even with higher
economic growth, Palace Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said on Wednesday.
“We are pleased with
the announcement that inflation for the month of November had slowed
down to 2.8 percent….This comes at a time when the Philippine economy is
growing at a strong 7.1 percent, contrary to the common notion that
rapid economic growth is usually accompanied by inflationary pressures,”
Lacierda said.
(Mia M. Gonzalez)
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