Philippine inflation further slows to 2.1 pct in May 2020

Source: Xinhua | 2020-06-06

The Philippines' headline inflation further slowed down to 2.1 percent in May 2020 from 2.2 percent in April 2020, mainly due to lower transpiration cost, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.

"This brings the year-to-date inflation for 2020 at 2.5 percent," PSA Head Claire Dennis Mapa said in a virtual media briefing. In May 2019, Mapa said inflation was higher at 3.2 percent.

According to Mapa, the slowdown in the headline inflation in May 2020 was mainly driven by the 5.6 percent annual drop in the transport index.

Mapa said inflation for food at the national level slowed down to 2.9 percent in May 2020, from 3.4 percent in the previous month. It was observed at 3.2 percent in May 2019.