Rise of PH’s August ’17 Inflation to 3.1% Expected: Espenilla

The Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Tuesday said the 3.1 percent rise of price increases in August, from 2.8 percent the previous month, is “as expected.”

Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the latest inflation rate brought the average in the first eight months this year to 3.1 percent, within the government’s two to four percent target for this year until 2019.

Year-ago inflation rate was lower at 1.8 percent.

“August inflation reading is as expected. We remain on target,” BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. told reporters in a WhatsApp message Tuesday.

Espenilla, in a statement earlier in the day, said the BSP “continues to see a manageable inflation outlook over the policy horizon after taking into consideration the latest inflation reading in August.”

He said “inflation is projected to settle near the midpoint of the National Government’s target range of 3.0 percent ± 1.0 percentage point in 2017 to 2019.”

He said “favorable outlook for domestic economic activity with appropriate liquidity conditions and well-anchored inflation expectations” continue to support the inflation path.

“The within-target path of inflation over the policy horizon provides the BSP with the flexibility to assess our monetary tools to enhance further our responsiveness to the evolving requirements of the economy,” he added. (PNA)