PH May Inflation Rate of 5.4% Highest in Three and a Half Years

From 4.9% last April to a new high of 5.4% this May, this month’s inflation rate is the highest recorded since the inflation rate of November 2018 which was at 6.1%.

The increased inflation was an effect of a jump in transport costs, trickling down to other commodities such as food.

Consumers will now bear more of these costs.

Mr. Dennis Mapa, a national statistician has stated that “The past five months, we saw inflation going up. The slope was steeper due to the significant impact of transport costs and oil products,”

The Philippines does not have access to its oil supplies and relies heavily on oil importation, making it susceptible to the current unpredictable state of the global market.

Mr. Mapa also stated that “If prices continue to rise, then the expectation is for continued increase in the prices in the local market,”

Global prices for diesel and oil are predicted to not slow down anytime soon. Gasoline inflation went up to 47.2% while diesel inflation rose to 86.2%. With this, those using public transport are also affected with an inflation of 1.1%.

NEDA Secretary Karl Chua identified the Russia-Ukraine war as a major factor in affecting the international supply chain, leading to increased prices of goods such as oil and fuel.

Currently, the Duterte administration has made plans to counter the negative impact of the global market trends on the local economy as stated by Secretary Chua.

An estimated 180,000 public utility vehicle drivers were given a P6,500 subsidy for fuel and P3,000 discounts for fuel were allocated for 160,000 fishers and farmers.

These subsidies and discounts are part of the P6.1B budget allotted by the government to cushion the blow of the increasing fuel prices.

Source: Philstar