January inflation highest in three years

Inflation rose in January, the government reported Tuesday morning.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said that the headline inflation jumped by 4% last month from 3.3% logged in December and 2.7% recorded in January 2017.

The preliminary result is higher than the 3.5% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 14 economists and analysts conducted late last week and matching the top end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 3.5%-4% range seen for January as well as higher than the Department of Finance’s 3.3% forecast.

The January print was also the fastest reading since October 2014’s 4.3% clip.

BSP expects full-year inflation to average 3.4% this year, higher than the 3.2% finish in 2017 but still within the 2%-4% target range.

Excluding volatile food and energy items, core inflation increased by 3.9% last month compared to December’s 3% and higher than 2.5% in January last year. — Mark T. Amoguis