In the case of rice, PSA Assistant National Statistician Divina Gracia L. del Prado said the Filipino staple food posted its 10th straight month of deflation as prices fell 7.3 percent year-on-year even as February prices inched up 0.3 percent compared to January.
However, last month’s lower transportation costs and fuel prices came on the back of declining global oil prices due to slower demand for international travel as well as supply chain disruptions in China, which affected manufacturing sectors across the globe. In case a shortage in supply of products happened alongside slower consumer spending on goods and services, prices would go up faster than usual.“China’s PMI dive will mean lower supply of some goods, which could turn inflationary for select baskets, more notably the core,” said Security Bank chief economist Robert Dan J. Roces.
“On the other hand, with Chinese supply scarcer, consumers will tend to shift to locally produced goods,” Pernia, who heads the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority , told the Inquirer.