Philippines: Inflation drops in November
Inflation dropped to 4.1% in November from October’s 4.9%. November’s reading marked the weakest inflation rate since March 2022. Looking at the details of the release, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose at a softer rate in November, as did prices for clothing and footwear. Additionally, housing and utilities price growth softened.
The trend pointed down, with annual average inflation coming in at 6.3% in November (October: 6.6%).
Lastly, consumer prices dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.01% in November over the previous month, a more moderate drop than October’s 0.29% fall.
Nicholas Mapa, analyst at ING, commented on the outlook:
“Despite the quickstep lower for inflation, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reiterated that policy settings would need to be retained ‘sufficiently tight’ until inflation moves convincingly back to the target band of 2-4%. […] We expect the BSP to maintain its hawkish leaning, possibly extending its pause well into 2024, although the likelihood for additional rate hikes has diminished significantly.”