2012 inflation in Philippines lower at 3.2%

The increase in Philippine commodity prices averaged 3.2 percent in 2012, bolstering government expectations that inflation for 2013 would also be tame. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Monday that the 3.2 percent full-year inflation rate for 2012 is lower than the 4.6 percent full-year inflation average in 2011. "Inflation for 2012 is also well within the Development Budget Coordination Committee's target of 3 to 5 percent for the year," said Socioecomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan. For the month of December alone, inflation reached 2.9 percent, slightly higher than the 2.8 percent registered in November. NEDA, however, said the December inflation rate is still lower compared with that of other southeast Asian countries such as Thailand's 3.6 percent and Indonesia's 4.3 percent. The government noted that inflation in the last month of 2012 was caused by faster growth in the prices of food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and tobacco products. For 2013, the inter-agency DBCC and the Philippine central bank both expect inflation to remain manageable at 3 to 5 percent.