Palace Says That Inflation Rise in July Was Expected

The Palace says that the increase in inflation last July was expected.

According to Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, this statement comes after the release of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report stating the 6.4% increase in inflation last July. This rate is reportedly the highest since October 2018.

“I understand that these were projected even before, given the inputs based on international events that have led to the increase in the prices of petroleum. So all of these had been factored in and, in fact, even mentioned in the State of the Nation [Address] of the President,” says Cruz-Angeles.

”We have expected this. We’ll just wait until it evens out and the details of which should be asked of the [Department of Finance],”  she adds.

Cruz-Angeles also stated that the DOF is set to release an official statement concerning the inflation rate.

The increase last July also reflected the “second-round” effects which include higher transportation fees and increased wages.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) mentioned that the surfacing of these “second round” effects came from global price increases of food, fertilizer, and oil which were mostly caused by the Russia – Ukraine war.

The BSP goes on to say that with these factors, businesses and investors are predicting that inflation would stay high and thus also contribute to the price increases.

The Philippine Statistics Authority presented data showing that inflation has been increasing each month from 3% last February.

The most recent data shows the average inflation rate from January to July was 4.7%. This rate reads higher than the target of BSP, which they set at a range of 2% – 4%.

Source: Inquirer