The average price of regular milled rice fell 20 percent year-on-year to P40.66 per kilo in the first half of August, potentially easing overall inflation if the downtrend holds through month-end.
Treasury bill yields declined at Monday’s auction as investors shifted focus back to short-term debt following the auction of five-year retail treasury bonds last week, and amid growing anticipation of potential monetary policy easing.
Inflation in the Philippines eased to its lowest level in six years in July, driven by falling prices of rice, other food items, and utilities. The headline inflation rate slowed to 0.9 percent, down from 1.4 percent in June, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Treasury bill yields moved mostly lower at Monday’s auction, as investors braced for a raft of key economic reports that could influence future monetary policy direction.
Ferdinand “Perry” Ferrer, chairman and chief executive officer of EMS Group of Companies, has been named the incoming president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), succeeding Enunina Mangio.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has cleared the expansion of the Aboitiz-backed West Cebu Industrial Park–Special Economic Zone (WCIP-SEZ), approving the addition of seven new land parcels that widen the zone’s footprint in Balamban, Cebu.
The Meat Importers and Traders Association (MITA) has asked the Department of Agriculture (DA) to reconsider planned changes to the minimum access volume (MAV) rules for pork imports, warning that the proposal is creating “substantial uncertainty” for traders.