MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has issued orders that seek to expedite entry and delivery of imported agricultural commodities in a bid to fight runaway Philippine inflation that is now higher than most emerging economies in Asia. Inflation jumped to 6.4 percent in August, the highest level in almost a decade, amid persistent food supply bottlenecks. Broken down, data show the highest contributors to inflation in August were electricity, gas, fuels, fish, rice, personal transport, vegetables and meat. Latest government data show retail prices for regular-milled rice have hit P45.71, 20.26 percent higher than the same period last year. But some analysts have said monetary policy tightening alone is not enough to rein in inflation, as higher consumer prices in the Philippines are still supply-driven.

Source: Philippine Star September 25, 2018 06:23 UTC