MANILA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Year-on-year inflation in the Philippines slowed further to 7.6 percent in March from 8.6 percent in February due to the reduction of food and transportation costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday.
PSA data showed the inflation rate in March 2022 was lower at 4 percent. The average inflation rate for the first quarter of this year stood at 8.3 percent.
In a news conference, PSA head Dennis Mapa said the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages, which recorded a lower inflation rate at 9.3 percent from 10.8 percent in February, was the main driver of the continued downtrend of the overall inflation in March.
Mapa added transport came second, with an inflation rate of 5.3 percent from 9.0 percent in the previous month, and the third primary driver was housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which recorded a 7.6 percent inflation rate from 8.6 percent in February.
Health and information and communication commodity groups also contributed to the lower March inflation, he said.
"While inflation is beginning to slow, it remains the most pressing issue the government must monitor and urgently address," National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
Meanwhile, the PSA said the core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy items in the headline inflation, rose to 8 percent in March from 7.8 percent in February.
The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts inflation in the Philippines to average 6.2 percent in 2023 before easing to 4 percent in 2024. It also expects the Philippine economy to grow by 6.0 percent this year, and to climb further by 6.2 percent in 2024.
The ADB said local food supply constraints and rising global commodity prices led to high inflation rates in early 2023. Inflation is projected to decelerate in the second half of 2023 and through 2024 as the series of monetary policy tightening take effect and global commodity prices ease. ■