MANILA, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Philippine inflation rate for the year 2017 stabilized at 3.2 percent, the Philippine National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said on Friday.
Based on a report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), NEDA said headline inflation rate for December 2017 remained at 3.3 percent, similar to that of November, closing 2017 with a full-year rate of 3.2 percent.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said that the moderate full-year inflation rate of 3.2 percent in 2017 is a good basis for maintaining the government's inflation target at 2 to 4 percent for 2018.
Inflation in December 2017 was due to faster increases in food prices like corn, meat, fish, fruit and cereals, but tempered by lower non-food inflation like transport, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, according to the report.
Pernia said he "sees inflation over the near-term to remain stable" despite pressures that may be brought about by the newly enacted domestic tax reform, weather patterns, and uncertainties in international oil markets.
Pernia said that any increases in prices in the first few months of 2018 will be tempered by the expected decline in power rates as capacity fees from power generators fell due to fewer power outages.
He said that the timely implementation of the massive infrastructure plan will also be critical in bringing down electricity and transportation costs over the medium-term.
"We are happy that we have stayed within the inflation target last year, and that the Development Budget Coordination Committee will likely maintain the 2 to 4 percent target range for this year until 2020," Pernia revealed.
The Philippine Department of Finance released a statement on Thursday, saying the government can sustain a manageable inflation environment with the economic growth.
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