MANILA — Philippine annual inflation quickened in July, reflecting faster pace of increases in food and utility costs, the statistics agency said on Tuesday.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.4% in July, above the previous month’s 3.7%, bringing year-to-date inflation to 3.7% and close to the top of the central bank’s 2.0%-4.0% target range.
Economists polled by Reuters had projected a rate of 4.1% for July, at the bottom end of the central bank’s 4.0% to 4.8% forecast range for that month.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and oil prices, eased to 2.9% in July from 3.1% in June, government data showed.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona said on Monday that monetary authority could look at cutting rates if price pressures continued to ease.
The BSP, which has kept policy rate steady at 6.5% at its last six meetings, will review the direction of interest rates at its Aug. 15 meeting. It would also have second-quarter gross domestic product data by then.
Separate data on Tuesday showed exports shrank 17.3% in June from a year earlier, while imports contracted 7.5%. That led to a trade deficit of $4.3 billion for June, narrower than the previous month’s revised deficit of $4.7 billion.
— Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Mikhail Flores; Editing by John Mair
