DOF Sees March Inflation Rate at 4.1%

Higher taxes of sin products are seen to drive Philippines’ inflation rate higher in March 2018 to around 4.1 percent from 3.9 percent in the previous month using the rebased 2012 index.

“Of the 4.1% forecast inflation rate for March, sin products account for as much as 0.5 percentage point, much higher than their contribution of only 0.16 percentage point in the same month last year,” the Department of Finance said in an economic bulletin issued Wednesday.

The Philippine Statistics Authority is scheduled to release the March 2018 inflation report on Thursday, April 5, 2018.

Last February, rate of price increases rose to 3.9 percent from month-ago’s 3.4 percent due faster inflation of the food index as well as the double-digit growth of the annual inflation of alcoholic beverages and tobacco index.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages index went up to 4.8 percent last month while the alcoholic beverages and tobacco index rose to 16.9 percent.

In the first two months this year, inflation averaged at 3.7 percent, within the central bank’s two to four percent target for 2017-19. (PNA)