Defining the News
Inflation dropped to 2.8% in January 2024, marking its slowest pace in over three years, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Tuesday.
This figure represents a deceleration from the 3.9% reported in December 2023 and the 8.7% noted in the same month the previous year. NEDA attributed the significant contributor to the lower inflation rate to the easing of food inflation to 3.3%, down from 5.5% in December. This was attributed to decreased prices in corn , oils and fats , meat , and sugar . However, rice inflation accelerated to 22.6% in January from 19.6% in the previous month.
Given the El Niño’s persistence until May, Balisacan mentioned implementing stop-gap measures, including allowing further imports on key commodities, until supply stabilizes at consumer-friendly prices while ensuring fair returns for local producers.