BSP-Inflation Averages 4.5 Percent in 2021.
ENPNewswire-January 28, 2022--BSP-Inflation Averages 4.5 Percent in 2021
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Release date- 26012022 - The BSP releases the final issue of the quarterly BSP Inflation Report covering the period October-December 2021.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2022, the Inflation Report shall be known as the BSP Monetary Policy Report (MPR), which will henceforth serve as the BSP's flagship publication on monetary policy. The MPR will focus on the forward-looking discussion of the BSP's inflation forecasts as well as their implications on the stance of monetary policy. Moreover, the publication cycle of the MPR will better synchronize with the meetings of the Monetary Board on monetary policy, thus allowing the BSP to update the public in a more timely manner on how recent developments may affect its inflation outlook.
The maiden issue of the MPR will be published on 18 February 2022, following the announcement of the BSP's monetary policy decision on 17 February 2022.
The following are the highlights of the Q4 2021 BSP Inflation Report:
Average headline inflation eases in Q4 2021. Year-on-year (y-o-y) headline inflation slowed down to an average of 4.2 percent in Q4 2021 from 4.5 percent in the previous quarter. This brought the year-to-date average inflation to 4.5 percent, higher than the National Government's (NG) target range of 2-4 percent for 2021. Food inflation declined due mainly to slower price increases of key food items amid easing supply constraints. Meanwhile, non-food inflation rose owing to higher inflation in energy-related items, specifically in petroleum products and charges for electricity generation and transmission. Nevertheless, core inflation was steady at 3.2 percent in Q4 2021. Estimates of alternative core inflation measures produced by the BSP indicated manageable underlying price pressures overall even as they showed mixed trends.
The BSP's survey of inflation expectations of private sector economists as of December 2021 showed higher mean inflation forecasts for 2021 and 2022 and a lower mean inflation forecast for 2023 relative to the September 2021 survey. Most analysts expected the BSP to raise the policy interest rate in 2022 and 2023, with upside risks seen to emanate from normalization of business activities amid the less stringent quarantine measures; persistently high global oil prices and their possible impact on transport costs; election-related spending; supply...
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