BSP wary of 'surprise price shocks'

• Published date: 09 February 2023
• Publication title: Business Mirror

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) believes inflation may have already peaked in January 2023.

However, BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla told reporters on Wednesday that 'surprise price shocks' could still happen in the coming months.

The pronouncements made by the central bank governor came a day after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that January inflation reached 8.7 percent, the highest in 15 years.

'It [inflation in January] was actually higher than the high end of our forecast. Most likely [peaked]. Of course, I can't rule out another surprise supply shock,' Medalla said.

Based on PSA data, core inflation reached 7.4 percent. Core inflation is often considered an indicator of long-term inflation.

Core inflation, which excludes certain highly volatile food and non-food...