Philippines’ inflation at 1.4% in June

[MANILA] Philippine inflation slightly quickened to 1.4 per cent in June, compared to the previous month’s 1.3 per cent, the statistics agency said on Friday, due to the faster pace of increases in utility costs.

Economists in a Reuters poll had expected inflation of 1.5 per cent last month, within the central bank’s forecast range of 1.1 to 1.9 per cent.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was unchanged at 2.2 per cent in June.

Inflation in the first half of the year averaged 1.8 per cent, within the central bank’s 2 per cent to 4 per cent target for the year. REUTERS