Malacañang on Friday expressed joy over the country’s inflation alleviating to 2.4 percent in August 2020.
“The Palace considers the easing of the August 2020 inflation to 2.4 percent a positive development,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the country’s inflation experienced a slowing down primarily due to the “deceleration in the inflation for the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages.”
The figure brought the year-to-date inflation for 2020 to 2.5 percent.
“We credit this to the gradual reopening of the economy, where we see a decrease in food prices,” Roque said.
The spokesman claimed keeping prices of basic commodities “stable” has remained the government’s “topmost priority” as the country continued to grapple with economic and public health repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We will therefore continue to monitor prices of basic goods and make sure there is unhampered flow in the movement and delivery of essential commodities to other places, notwithstanding the localized actions imposed in some areas,” Roque said.
Malacañang also vowed to sustain programs for the agriculture sector to boost production in the long-term.
The lower inflation rate was recorded in spite of the imposition of modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila and nearby provinces in early August.
Metro Manila inflation was seen at 2.2 percent, the same rate as last month.
In areas outside Metro Manila, inflation decelerated to 2.5 percent from 2.9 percent in July. John Ezekiel J. Hirro