According to Jose Mario I. Cuyegkeng, an economist from the ING Bank, inflation is likely to trend closer towards 3% by the end of this year. That would allow the full-year average to hit the target of the central bank. In addition to that, the rate is expected to continue to creep up all the way towards 2017.
The rise of basic goods prices was about 1.3% back in January, which was slower than the 1.5% pace that was seen in December, as well as the 2.4% from the previous year. The oil prices are said to have driven power and transportation costs down. The inflation in 2015 also averaged at 1.4%, which matched BSP’s forecast. The Monetary Board met on Wednesday for a review of its present monetary policy stance, which would be the first for the year.
