BSP: Inflation seen at 2.7-3.5% in April

Inflation is likely to continue its deceleration and settle within the government target range in April, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Tuesday.

In a statement from its Department of Economic Research (DER), the BSP said inflation is likely to fall within the 2.7 percent to 3.5 percent range in April.

This will compare with the 3.3 percent registered in March, and the 4.5 percent in April 2018, which was then the fastest in over six years.

"Higher domestic oil prices and the slight upward adjustment in electricity rates are seen to provide upside price pressures for the month," the central bank said.

Pump prices of gasoline were hiked for four consecutive weeks this month, while electricity rates were raised by 6.33 centavos to P10.5594 per kilowatt hour.

"However, these pressures may be partly offset by the continued decline in rice prices and by the peso appreciation," said the BSP.

The Philippine peso has recently been trading close to the P51:$1 level, compared with its end-2018 close of P52.580:$1.

According to the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), it expects inflation to settle within 3.0 percent to 4.0 percent this year, in line with the government target of 2.0 percent to 4.0 percent. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/KBK, GMA News