Philippines' inflation likely remained benign in February: Standard Chartered

Quotes from Standard Chartered:

-The Philippines will release February inflation data on 5 March. We expect inflation to have been unchanged at 2.4% y/y, representing a 0.1% m/m increase. Energy inflation likely continued to drop due to lower crude oil prices.

-Electricity prices fell 11.3% y/y in January, and have been on a steady downward trend since the 5.4% increase in October 2014. Similarly, prices of fuels and lubricants fell 13.1% y/y, following a 0.2% increase in October 2014. Meanwhile, food inflation has remained above the levels seen in 2012 and 2013.

-Central bank Governor Tetangco noted on 20 February that "the risk of inflation falling below zero or to negative levels in the Philippines appears to be minimal". We see a higher possibility of policy rate cuts if inflation stays persistently below the 2-4% target set for this year.