THE central bank expects inflationary pressures to have moderated slightly in October due to the decrease in the prices of rice and other food items as well as the cost of electricity — a possible indication that the uptrend in the consumer price index since the start of the year may have finally been broken.
In a statement, the Department of Economic Research of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it expects the inflation rate for October to settle within the 6.2-7 percent range.
“This corresponds to a month-on-month inflation forecast range of -0.2 to 0.6 percent, which is in line with the BSP’s assessment that inflation is likely to have peaked in the third quarter of 2018 in the absence of further price shocks,” the economists said.
The inflation rate currently stands at a nine-year high of 6.7 percent recorded in September. But economic managers and economists are optimistic that moderating rice and petroleum prices and an aggressive interest rate hiking streak, may have finally made a dent on surging consumer prices.