Headline inflation may settle between 3 percent and 3.8 percent this month, the central bank said, citing pressure from higher electricity rates in areas serviced by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). Downward price pressures would come from lower fuel and food prices, the central bank said on Monday. The BSP forecasts 2017 inflation to average 3.4 percent, or within the government’s 2 percent to 4 percent target. The board also cited the beneficial impact on inflation when the quantitative restrictions on rice importation are removed in July. The lingering uncertainty over prospects of the global economy, due in part to possible shifts in macroeconomic policies in advanced economies, continues to pose a key downside risk to the inflation outlook, it added.

Source: Manila Times March 27, 2017 17:03 UTC