A customer buys vegetables at a market in Manila on October 5, 2018. (Photo by TED ALJIBE / AFP)
Headline inflation in June moved at its slowest in four months with slower increases in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and transport items, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.
Preliminary data from the agency showed the consumer price index grew by 3.7 percent year on year in June, easing from the 3.9 percent in May and 5.4 percent in the same period last year.
READ: May inflation rises to 3.9%, highest in five months
This is within the 3.4-4.2 percent forecast of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for the month, however it was slightly below the 3.9 percent average inflation forecast in an Inquirer poll of 10 economists conducted last week.
Inflation print in June marked the slowest growth in four months or since the 3.4 percent logged in February.
This also marked the seventh straight month that inflation settled within the BSP’s 2-4 percent target range for the year.
For the first six months, inflation averaged 3.5 percent, still lower from the 7.2 percent in June 2023.