High inflation rate seen to remain for Aug.

08/29/2008

Gov’t economic officials projected an inflation rate of as much as 12.7 percent for August to indicate that the regime of high prices continues to hound the country.

Socio-economic planning chief Ralph Recto forecast the inflation rate at a range of 12.1 percent to 12.7 percent for this month. He, however, declined to give the reasons behind this projection.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), meanwhile, said the inflation rate will range between 11.8 percent to 12.6 percent, with the upper end higher than the previous month’s figure because of the typhoon season and rising costs of raw materials for some food items.

BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said the impact of the typhoon season to domestic prices of goods and the higher prices of raw materials for some food items “could be balanced off by lower international rice and oil prices.”

In July, inflation surged to 12.2 percent from 11.4 percent in the previous month due to higher oil prices and the effect of Typhoon “Frank.”

The BSP earlier said rate of prices increases would continue rising but forecasts it not to exceed 13 percent until it peak in the end of the third quarter.

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