Typhoon damage pushes Philippine inflation higher, AS

Thu, Nov 5 04:40 AM

MANILA, Philippines (AP) Inflation in the Philippines rose to 1.6 percent last month as damage to agriculture from four successive typhoons boosted prices, authorities said Thursday. The rate marked an increase from 0.7 percent in September and from a two-decade low of 0.1 percent in August, the National Statistics Office said.

"As expected, the uptick was primarily due to supply pressures in agricultural products brought about by the recent typhoons," said central bank Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. The spike was expected to be temporary "with the underlying near-term trend remaining manageable," he added.

Back-to-back typhoons since Sept. 26 triggered massive flooding and inundated large tracts of rice fields in the northern Philippines, killing nearly 1,000 people and causing more than half a billion dollars in damage.

Tetangco earlier projected 2009 inflation to average between 3 percent and 3.4 percent in 2010, both within the central bank's target.

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