The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday, October 31, forecasts inflation for October 2024 to range between 2.0% and 2.8%, citing rising prices of key food commodities and domestic petroleum products as significant upward pressures.
While BSP expects a higher inflation rate from the 1.9 percent recorded in September, the central bank notes that lower costs in other essential goods would likely mitigate the pressures.
“Higher prices of food commodities such as vegetables, fruits, and fish, along with the increase in domestic petroleum prices and the peso depreciation, are the primary sources of upward price pressures for the month,” the BSP noted in a statement.
The anticipated surge in food prices highlights the lingering impact of supply constraints on some agricultural products, a trend exacerbated by recent weather disturbances affecting crop yields.
On October 28, after severe tropical storm Trami (formerly Kristine), retail fish prices surged by P160 per kilo.
In contrast, electricity rates dropped by P0.3587 per kWh in October, lowering the average household rate to P11.4295 per kWh, down from September’s P11.7882 per kWh.
October oil prices saw varied changes, with both price rollbacks and increases recorded.
Despite these challenges, BSP officials noted that recent reductions in rice and meat prices, along with lower electricity rates, are expected to ease some of the inflationary effects, potentially keeping inflation within their target range. (TCSP)
