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.