“Philippine shares closed to a new year-to-date high as inflation came in better than expected and strong third quarter earnings painted a rosier picture of the economy as the country continues to loosen restrictions caused by the pandemic,” said Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at stocks brokerage house Regina Capital Development.
“Slower-than-expected food inflation helped the headline number edge down after meat inflation decelerated, offsetting higher vegetable and fruit prices. Meat prices stabilized somewhat after the government ramped up pork importation to augment supplies depleted by the proliferation of African swine fever,” Mapa said in a research note.
But despite the downside surprise, he noted the 10-month inflation average of 4.5 percent remained well-above the central bank’s 2-4 percent target. Nonetheless, he expects the central bank to maintain interest rates at record-low levels for the rest of this year.
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