Philippines: Inflation remains steady in May
Consumer prices increased a seasonally-adjusted 0.08% in May over the previous month, swinging from April’s 0.08% drop. May’s upturn was largely driven by higher prices for housing and utilities and transportation.
Inflation was stable at April’s 4.5% in May. Meanwhile, annual average inflation ticked up to 3.5% in May (April: 3.3%). Lastly, core inflation was steady, coming in at April’s 3.3% in May.
Commenting on the outlook for inflation, Julia Goh and Loke Siew Ting, economists at UOB, noted:
“The latest three months of inflation reading suggested that headline inflation had hit its peak in Feb and is now shifting into downtrend at a moderate pace. Barring any price shocks, we expect inflation to retrace back into BSP’s upper bound of 2.0%-4.0% target range from Jun onwards.”