Private economists eye lower inflation in Q2 ’15

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MANILA — Private economists surveyed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) considered further drop in the rate of price increases for the second quarter of 2015.

According to the central bank’s Inflation Report for the second quarter of this year, mean inflation forecasts of the economists declined to 2.

3 percent from 2.7 percent in the survey done in the previous quarter.

“The analysts attributed their lower inflation expectations mainly to the decline of international food prices, which are likely to outweigh the effects of the El Nino phenomenon, power supply shortage, the possible Federal rate hike, and election-related spending,” it said.

The report also said that annual average inflation forecast of the economists for this year also went down to 3.1 percent and the 2016 forecast to three percent.

These were previously both at 3.3 percent.

Inflation in the second quarter of this year averaged at 1.6 percent from the previous quarter’s 2.4 percent.

In the first half of the year, inflation averaged at two percent, the lower end of the government’s two to four percent of this year up to 2018.

Last June alone, inflation fell to decades low of 1.2 percent from month-ago’s 1.6 percent due to lower increases in the prices of food and electricity indices among others because of lower oil prices.