PH inflation slows to 2.5% in March

Headline inflation in the Philippines slowed to 2.5% in March 2020, down from 2.6% in February 2020 and 3.3% in March 2019.

This slowdown was primarily driven by a decrease in transportation costs, which fell by 1.8%, and slower annual increments in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.

The March inflation rate was higher than the 2.3% median forecast in a BusinessWorld poll and falls within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) estimated range of 2% to 2.8% for the month.

Core inflation, excluding volatile food and fuel prices, also eased to 3% in March from 3.2% in February.

However, indices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, communication, and recreation and culture saw faster annual markups.

The average inflation for the first three months of the year stood at 2.7%, remaining within the BSP's target band of 2% to 4% for 2020.