INFLATION likely tamed down to below 4 percent for the first time this year in November, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) chief told reporters on Monday.
In a Viber message to local reporters, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said their latest forecasting exercise showed that inflation likely hit 3.7 percent in November this year, with a range of 3.3 percent to 4.1 percent during the month.
This means that the BSP expects inflation to fall within the 2 to 4 percent annual inflation target for the first time since December 2020 when it hit 3.5 percent.
“Higher electricity and LPG prices along with the uptick in the prices of meat, fish, fruits and vegetables are the primary sources of inflationary pressures during the month,” Diokno said.
“These could be offset in part by rollbacks in domestic petroleum prices and the appreciation of the peso,” he added.
Earlier this month, BSP Deputy Governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector Francisco Dakila Jr. earlier said they have revised their inflation forecast for the country for this year to 4.3 percent from 4.4 percent in their September forecast.
Dakila also said once inflation simmers down below 4 percent in November, it will continue to decelerate to below 3 percent in the first quarter of next year.
For 2022 and 2023, the BSP retained its inflation forecasts at 3.3 percent for next year and 3.2 percent for 2023.
The BSP also said in their monetary policy meeting on November 18 that easing inflation gave more leeway for the retained stance for the year.
On Monday, the governor said: “The BSP will continue to monitor emerging price developments to help achieve its primary mandate of price stability that is conducive to balanced and sustainable growth of the economy.”