JANUARY-APRIL INFLATION SETTLES AT TARGET’S LOW-END—PADERANGA

MANILA—The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said that movements of commodity prices remain manageable, even with the slight uptick in last month’s inflation.

The country’s socioeconomic and development planning agency made this statement after the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported an annual headline inflation rate of 3.0 percent in April 2012, which was slightly higher than the March 2012 figure of 2.6 percent.

“The latest report brought the year-to-date inflation average of only 3.0 percent, which is the low-end of the government’s target of 3.0-5.0 percent for 2012,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director-General Cayetano W. Paderanga, Jr.

Headline inflation rate is the percent increase in the prices of goods and services commonly purchased by households, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI). The government, through the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee, sets the inflation target.

The NSO reported that higher prices of food, including fish, dairy products, non-alcoholic beverages and selected fruits, heavily contributed to April 2012’s inflation.

Citing a report from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, Paderanga noted for instance that growth of the retail price of bangus in Metro Manila went up to 28.3 percent in April 2012 from 23.0 percent in the previous month.

“Transitory increase in fish prices were observed in April on account of higher demand due to the observance of the Lenten season and the temporary supply constraints caused by the no-fishing zone policy implemented by the government in anticipation of the North Korean rocket launch in mid-April,” Paderanga said.

Upward adjustments in electricity rate charges were also a factor in the April 2012 headline inflation, according to the Cabinet official.

“Meralco faced higher generation charges last month, reflecting the upward adjustment in the cost of buying from both the wholesale electricity spot market and other major Meralco sources such as SEM-Calaca, Quezon Power Philippines Ltd., and the Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo power plants in Batangas. This is partly traced to reduced reliance on hydroelectric power sources and increased dependence on more expensive oil-based power generation during the summer season,” said Paderanga.

MR No. 2012-036

07 May 2012