MANILA— Philippine annual inflation came in at 3.6per cent in December, the lowest level since December 2020, due to slower increases in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index, the country’s statistics agency said on Wednesday.
The headline figure was near the low end of the central bank’s projected range of 3.5per cent-4.3per cent for the month, and below the 3.8per cent median forecast in a Reuters poll. Full-year inflation averaged 4.5per cent, outside the 2per cent-4per cent target band of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Ed Davies)
