RP inflation 4.8% in July

RP inflation 4.8% in July

MANILA (AFP): Philippine consumer prices rose by a lower than expected 4.8 percent from a year earlier in July, on course for the full-year target of between six and seven percent despite a sharp depreciation of the peso, officials said yesterday.

On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in July from June, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said, adding that the year-on-year rate in July was the same rate posted in June.

"The steady July inflation rate of 4.8 percent validates our view that the July 11 depreciation of the peso will have minimal impact on the inflation rate," Central Bank of the Philippines governor Gabriel Singson said.

Central bank officials over the weekend said the peso depreciation would not reflect in the July inflation rate since prices were surveyed in late June and early July.

The peso had fallen more than eight percent against the dollar since the central bank allowed it to trade within a wider daily band last month, amid pressure from speculators who targeted southeast Asian currencies.