By Neil Jerome Morales and Mikhail Flores
MANILA(Reuters) – Philippine annual inflation rose at its slowest pace in 20 months in November, likely easing the pressure on the central bank to keep interest rates higher for longer.
The consumer price index climbed 4.1% in November, the lowest rate of growth since March 2022 and less than the 4.3% forecast in a Reuters poll. Inflation was 4.9% in October.
The data from the Philippine Statistics Authority also showed food inflation was 5.8% in November, the slowest annual rise since May 2022. Decreases in the cost of vegetables offset a gain in rice prices which increased to 15.8% from 13.2%.
November inflation brought year-to-date average inflation to 6.2%, still far above the central bank’s 2%-4% target for the year.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, was at 4.7% in November versus 5.3% the previous month.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which meets for the last time this year on Dec. 14, kept interest rates steady at 6.5% at its meeting in November, after an off-cycle 25-basis point hike on Oct. 26 amid worries that inflation could spiral out of control.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Edwina Gibbs)
