Slight inflation rate increase not a cause for alarm – Palace
MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Friday downplayed the 1.3 percent inflation rate increase in November and stressed that there is no need to press the panic button.
The increase in the prices of basic commodities last month was the highest in three months, bringing the end-November average inflation to 2.5 percent, within the government’s 2-4 percent target range.
Inflation inches up to 1.3 percent, but still within gov’t target range
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo noted that “soaring inflation, which peaked at 6.7 percent last year, has been slain through the efforts of responsible agencies, and is now a thing of the past.”
Panelo stressed that for the first 11 months of the year, inflation rate averaged 2.5 percent, which the Department of Trade and Industry tagged as “still a very tamed inflation rate, much lower than the full-year range of 2-4 percent we are expecting and within the target range set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
“Increases registered highest in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index, and our economists attribute the same to excise taxes,” Panelo said.
“In the words of the Department of Finance: ‘The country’s stable macroeconomic fundamentals plus streamlined food supply will enable the economy to attain rapid growth and sustain low inflation. Through appropriate fiscal and monetary policies, it will be able to ride safely through the ongoing trade war and avoid the shocks that slowed down many emerging economies,” he added.
Panelo assured that the government will maintain fiscal and monetary policies implemented by President Duterte’s economic managers to “boost and further improve the country’s economy, while keeping inflation low for our local consumers, amidst emerging global threats.”
