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Inflation likely settled between 2.4% and 3.2% in November due to higher oil prices and damage to crops caused by typhoons, Philippine central bank governor Benjamin said on Friday. E. Diokno.
“Higher domestic oil prices as well as the impact of weather shocks on the prices of rice and selected agricultural products contributed to upward price pressures during the month,” he told reporters in a message from the Viber group. .
Local oil prices rose 50 cents a liter for diesel and 30 cents for kerosene this month, according to the Department of Energy’s website, which cites data as of Nov. 24.
Oil prices have fallen P4.62 per liter for gasoline, P8.86 for diesel and P12.29 for kerosene this year, he said.
Damage to crops from Typhoon Vamco, locally called Ulises, reached P4.18 billion, affecting 106,619 farmers and 106,489 hectares of land, according to the Department of Agriculture.
The storm followed four other typhoons and submerged many parts of Luzon island, including the capital region, this month.
Diokno said higher oil prices could be tempered by the stronger peso and lower electricity rates in the areas served by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
Meralco has said that the rate for a typical home was reduced by P0.0395 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P8.5105 this month, resulting in a net reduction in the rate of P1.35 per kWh since the beginning of the year.
The peso appreciated 5.5 cents to P48.06 against the dollar at the close of business on Friday.
“Going forward, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will remain attentive to economic and financial developments to ensure that its core mandate of price stability leading to balanced and sustainable economic growth is achieved,” Diokno said.
The central bank again cut its official interest rates by 25 basis points last week, bringing its overnight reverse buyback rates, loans and deposit facilities to all-time lows of 2%, 2.5% and 1, 5%, respectively.
Inflation accelerated to 2.5% in October from 2.3% in September, the fastest pace in three months.
The rebound was mainly due to faster increases in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as in education, restaurants and miscellaneous goods and services.
Inflation has averaged 2.5% to date, within the 2-4% BSP target. The central bank expects inflation to average 2.3% this year.
The Statistics Authority of the Philippines will report inflation data for November on December 4. Beatrice M. Laforga
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