PH Inflation Rose To 5.4% In May

In May, the Philippines' headline inflation increased to 5.4 percent year on year, up from 4.9 percent the previous month.

Photo Insert: Meat, fish, and vegetables are the main contributors to the increase in food inflation.

This falls within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP's May forecast range of 5.0-5.8 percent. The resulting year-to-date average inflation of 4.1 percent is higher than the Government's 2022 average inflation target range of 2.0-4.0 percent.

In May, monthly seasonally adjusted inflation fell to 0.5 percent from 1.0 percent in April.

The increase in headline inflation was largely due to faster increases in food and transportation prices. Meat, fish, and vegetables are the main contributors to the increase in food inflation, though most food commodities experienced higher year-on-year inflation in May compared to the previous month.

Non-food inflation increased as well, owing primarily to higher gasoline and diesel prices, which more than offset lower electricity rates and liquefied petroleum gas prices during the month.

The latest inflation report confirms the BSP's prediction that inflation will remain elevated in the near term as supply-side pressures persist.

Given these circumstances, the BSP continues to support the National Government's continued implementation of non-monetary interventions to mitigate the impact of supply constraints.

At the same time, the BSP is keeping an eye on evolving price trends, particularly the possibility of further second-round effects, and is prepared to take appropriate measures as needed to protect its price stability objective.

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