The country’s inflation rose 2.5% in November from 2.3% in October due to higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday.
The November 2024 inflation of 2.5% is within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ forecast range of 2.2% to 3%.
This brought the overall inflation from January to November at 3.2%, comfortably within the government’s target range of 2% to 4%.
The latest inflation outturn is consistent with the BSP’s assessment that inflation will continue to trend closer to the low end of the target range in the near term. This reflects easing supply pressures for key food items, particularly rice.
“Despite the strong typhoons our country faced in recent months, consumer prices have remained relatively stable. This demonstrates
the resilience of our economy and the effectiveness of our policies,” said NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan.
However, Balisacan emphasized that the government is closely monitoring prices of commodities, especially food, in the wake of successive typhoons in October and November.
These typhoons adversely affected food supply and logistics, resulting in a rise in food inflation to 3.5% from 3%, with vegetable inflation accelerating to 5.9% from -9.2% deflation in October.
During its December 2 meeting, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) of the NEDA Board projected that full-year 2024 inflation would average between 3.1% to 3.3%, significantly lower than last year’s average inflation rate of 6%. Furthermore, the DBCC maintained the inflation assumption of 2% to 4% from 2025 to 2028.
“We are committed to maintaining price stability by ensuring inflation remains low and manageable. This will be supported by prudent monetary policies and strategic trade measures in the near term, as well as improved access to quality job opportunities and productivity-enhancing reforms in the medium term” said Balisacan.
To further address food prices, the Department of Agriculture is set to launch the Kadiwa Rice-for-All program across major public markets to offer more affordable options for consumers amid the persistently elevated rice prices. In addition, DA is also conducting an extensive review of existing livestock transport regulations in order to ease the transport of chickens and hogs without compromising food safety.
Meanwhile, to continuously address the impact of the African Swine Fever (ASF) and Avian Influenza (AI), the DA issued Administrative Circular No. 10 authorizing the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to set up livestock, poultry, and meat industry inspection sites in Metro Manila and nearby regions to prevent the spread of animal diseases. Also, DA amended the ASF vaccine guidelines under Administrative Circular No. 13, s. 2024, easing participation requirements to broaden coverage and accelerate the vaccination program.
Balisacan added that the government remains optimistic that the December inflation figures will sustain the trend of price stability and that inflation will remain within the government’s target range.
“Through the timely and strategic use of our various policy levers, a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach is vital to sustain our momentum in effectively managing inflation. Achieving this objective will be key to making economic growth more inclusive and accelerating our poverty reduction efforts,” Balisacan said.
