Philippines: Inflation jumps to multi-year high in June
In May, consumer prices rose 0.6% compared to the previous month, coming in above the flat reading reported in May. June’s print was driven by an across-the-board increase in all 11 components of the index. Education; food and non-alcoholic beverages; and alcoholic beverages and tobacco where the three components that recorded the steepest rises.
Inflation jumped to a seven-year high of 5.2% in June, significantly above the 4.6% figure in May. Inflation in June moved further above the upper bound of the Central Bank’s target range for the 2017–2020 period, set at 3.0% plus or minus one percentage point. Meanwhile, annual average inflation edged up from 3.3% in May to 3.6% in June.