MikeLigalig.com

By Joann Santiago

Inflation for March 2012 slowed to 2.6 percent from month-ago's 2.7 percent primarily on account of slower rise in the prices of utility rates, making monetary officials see a continued manageable inflation ahead.

Rate of price increases last month was at the lowest end of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) 2.6-3.1 percent forecast range for the month. This brought the average inflation in the first quarter of the year to 3.1 percent, the lower end of the government's three to five percent target until 2014.

"This further supports our view of manageable inflation over the policy horizon," BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a text message to reporters Wednesday.

The central bank chief said monetary officials "will continue to monitor price developments, particularly volatilities in international commodity price, to see how these would impact on domestic price setting."

"We will also follow data closely to see how previous policy actions are working through market behavior, to see if any further policy adjustment is needed to ensure continued well-behaved price expectations and actions," he said.

Central bank's policy-making Monetary Board (MB slashed BSP's policy rates by a total of 50 basis points in two consecutive policy meetings last January and March.

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