April inflation hits 4.5%, fastest in over 5 years

Consumer prices rose 4.5 percent year-on-year in April, the fastest pace in over five years, the government reported on Friday.

As such, the headline inflation rate averaged 4.1 percent in the first four months, breaching the government’s 2-4 percent target range.

In a report, the Philippine Statistics Authority attributed the faster upsurge in prices of basic goods to the increase in the following commodity groups:

• alcoholic beverages and tobacco (up 20 percent);
• clothing and footwear (up 2.2 percent);
• housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (up 3 percent);
• furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (up 2.8 percent);
• health (up 2.8 percent); transport (up 4.9 percent); recreation and culture (up 1.5 percent); and
• restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services (up 3.4 percent).

/kga