MANILA — Sustained uptick in oil prices is seen to result in further price increases this November at a range of 2.9 to 3.6 percent, the central bank estimated Wednesday.
In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it’s Department of Economic Research has considered the higher oil prices to push electricity rates in areas being serviced by the Manila Electric Company.
This upward risk, it said, “could be partly offset by the slightly stronger peso for the month.”
“Average inflation is expected to remain within the national government’s target range of 3.0 percent +/- percentage point for 2017,” it added.
Last October, inflation rose to 3.5 percent from month-ago’s 3.4 percent, resulting in a 3.2-percent average in the first 10 months of 2017.
The central bank’s policy-making Monetary Board (MB) eyes average inflation this year of 3.2 percent.