IT is as if the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas developed in a single day a sense of anxiety over where inflation was headed near term as the rate of change in prices averaged higher in February to 2.5 percent.
The February price survey result proved a wee bit higher than inflation in January when this averaged only 2.4 percent. Nevertheless, the uptick broke a five-month downtrend.
Compared to its year-ago level, the February 2015 inflation represented a deceleration from the 4.1 percent inflation reported last year.
The PSA traced the uptick to higher prices of certain food items in February 2015. This had a significant offsetting impact on the declining price of oil for the period.
Still, the February inflation print was within the forecast range for the month of 2.2 percent up to 3 percent. This was also within the government inflation target for the year of 2 percent to 4 percent and within market expectations.
BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. betrayed a sense of apprehension over the path of inflation down the line, saying future reversals in oil prices could cause price instability in the country.
“While we see the stance of policy still appropriate at this time, we continue to watch global developments, including strong reversals in oil price trends and changes in investor sentiment,” Tetangco told reporters in a text message.