Philippine Inflation Fastest in 20 months on Food,Fuel Prices:

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Philippine Inflation Fastest in 20 Months on Food, Fuel Prices

By Clarissa Batino

 April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Philippine inflation accelerated for a fifth month in March as food and fuel prices rose, reducing room for the central bank to cut interest rates to boost economic growth.

Consumer prices increased 6.4 percent from a year earlier, the statistics office said in Manila today, faster than the 5.8 percent median estimate of 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The inflation rate was the highest since July 2006.

Rice, wheat, corn and palm oil have touched records this year, stoking prices of noodles, bread and processed food and prompting hoarding in the Philippines. Accelerating inflation may prevent Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which expects economic growth to slow in 2008 from its fastest pace in 31 years, from reducing borrowing costs this month.

``We haven't seen inflation peak,'' said Jonathan Ravelas, an economist at BDO Unibank Inc. in Manila. ``I don't see the central bank cutting, at least not in the second quarter.''

The central bank may have to review its inflation forecast for this year should a foreseen ``hump'' in price increases be extended, central bank Governor Amando Tetangco said March 25.

The Philippines is the world's largest importer of rice, the price of which has almost doubled in the past year on the Chicago Board of Trade as China, Vietnam and India curb exports to secure domestic supplies.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' inflation target is as much as 5 percent this year. For 2009, the bank is aiming for a pace of as much as 4.5 percent. The benchmark interest rate is 5 percent after five reductions since July. Policy makers next meet on April 24 to decide on monetary policy.

To contact the reporter for this story: Clarissa Batino in Manila at cbatino@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 3, 2008 21:06 EDT

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Most Filipinos believe economy has ‘worsened’--survey


By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 01:55pm (Mla time) 03/31/2008


MANILA, Philippines -- Two in three, or 66 percent, of Filipinos believe that the economy "worsened" over the last three years and a growing percentage of the population consider themselves poor and their quality of life worsening, according to an independent survey.

The Pulse Asia Inc. findings are in contrast with the rosy economic picture that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has painted, with the end-2007 gross domestic product growing by 7.3 percent.

The independent study was conducted nationwide from February 21 to March 8. It has a margin of error of +/-3 percent and a confidence level of 95 percent, Pulse Asia said in a statement.

Asked to compare the state of the economy now from 2005, 66 percent said the economy was "worse now," 23 percent said it was the "same," while 11 percent said it was "better now," according to the survey.

Of those who said that the economy was "worse now," 75 percent said they "strongly felt" the deterioration in the economy, 22 percent said they "felt [it] somewhat, while four percent said they "did not feel" the deterioration, according to the survey.

Of those who said that the economy was "better now," 20 percent said their "strongly felt" the growth, 56 percent said they "felt [it] somewhat," while 24 percent said they "did not feel" the growth, according to the survey.

Asked to rate their personal situation, 71 percent said they were "very poor or poor" up from 68 percent in October 2007 and 75 percent in July 2007, the survey showed.

Fourteen percent said were "on-the-line" while only 15 percent said they were "well off or wealthy." In October 2007, 18 percent said they were "on-the-line" while 14 percent said they were "well off or wealthy," the survey showed.

Asked about their quality of life, 10 percent said they were "better now," 31 percent said they were "same as then," while 59 percent said they were "worse now," according to the survey.

In October 2007, 14 percent said they were "better now," 40 percent said they were "same as then," while 46 percent said they were "worse now," according to the survey.

"Difficult times continue for most Filipinos, with a big majority of them -- 71 percent, or about 12.8 million households -- saying they are very poor/poor," Pulse Asia said.

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Price Increases Means Shoppers Cut Back purchases
PHILIPPINES - As the price of food continues to soar, consumers are becoming more economical about how much they purchase.


Housewife Cecelia Cabido of  Alaska Mambaling, Cebu City of  Alaska Mambaling, Cebu City, used to buy two kilos of pork during her twice-a-week shopping at the Carbon public market. Lately, she decided to cut it to one kilo after the price of meat went up by P15 per kilo in recent months, coupled with the higher cost of rice.

According to the Global Nation-Inquirer a kilo of pork now costs P140 to P150 per kilo.

“The budget of the family is very tight especially that we are sending children to college,” said Cabido .

Cabido is just one of many consumers who have noticed that prices of pork at the wet markets and supermarkets have shot up.

A representative of a hog raisers group urged government to conduct price inspections because market vendors were making unreasonable markups on every kilo of pork meat.

“The government should check prices in food in the market. Some are selling pork at P180 per kilo. That's too much for consumers. This is the part where government should consider price control,” said Plutarco Ong, president of the Cebu Association of Meat and Poultry Products Multi-Purpose Cooperative.