MANILA (UPDATE 2) - Inflation quickened in April to 3.8 percent as food prices continued increasing, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Tuesday.

This was faster than the 3.7 percent clip seen in March and was the third straight month that inflation accelerated.

But it was within the 3.5 percent to 4.3 percent forecast of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and also within the government's target range of 2 to 4 percent.

National Statistician and PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa however noted slower increased in the prices of rice.

"Yung average price ng rice ay bumaba nitong Abril. Ang rice inflation ay bumaba slightly [to] 23.9 percent noong Abril, average for all households at the national level versus 24.4 percent [in March]," Mapa said.

In particular, he noted that the average price of well-milled rice went down from P56.44 per kilo in March to P56.42 in April.

The price of special rice also slightly dipped from P64.75 a kilo in March to P64.68 in April.

(The average price of rice declined in April. Rice inflation slightly went down to 23.9 percent in April, which is the average for all households at the national level, versus 24.4 percent.)

This was due to the slide in the world market prices of the commodity after rice prices peaked in January.  

Mapa noted, however, that rice inflation may remain elevated in the next few months due to base effects.

“Mababa kasi yung inflation natin nung rice last year mula January hanggang July. Tumaas siya nung August lang. So yung inflation rate would still be elevated,” he explained.

(Our rice inflation rate was low from January to July last year. It only rose in August. So the. inflation rate would still be elevated.)

Food inflation for the poorest 30 percent of Filipino families meanwhile still quickened to 8.5 percent in April 2024 from 7.4 percent in the previous month, the PSA said. For the poorest families, overall inflation was also higher at 5.2 percent as food made up a larger share of the goods and services they consumed. 

The April figure brought the average inflation for the first four months of the year to 3.4 percent.

Core inflation, which strips out food and fuel items whose prices can swing wildly, meanwhile slowed to 3.2 percent in April, from 3.4 percent in March and 7.9 percent in April 2023.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the government is working to ensure food security for Filipinos amid challenging weather patterns worsened by climate change.

“We must augment local production during shortages to ensure an adequate food supply at affordable prices for all Filipinos,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

 “Food insecurity extends beyond economic strain—it directly impacts the well-being of all Filipinos. Failing to augment local production during shortages perpetuates poverty and exacerbates vulnerability,” he added.

The BSP said that there were several factors that could still push inflation up for the year. These include higher food, electricity, and transport costs, and even global oil prices.

The BSP said it will consider the inflation print in its monetary board meeting on May 16.

The BSP has said that there were several factors that could still push inflation up for the year. BSP Governor Eli Remolona has said that the central bank is unlikely to cut interest rates until it sees a more sustained trend for inflation to slow down within the target range of economic managers.