NPCC: Oil prices to drop further this year

CEBU, Philippines - Oil prices are seen to continue declining this year, according to the National Price Coordinating Council.

 In the highlights of the recent NPCC meeting, which the Department of Trade and Industry-Cebu provided yesterday, the council said crude oil prices have been going down steadily since 2014 due to China’s weak economy, oversupply of petroleum products in the international market and lifting of sanctions on Iran.

 NPCC, which the DTI chairs, added the same trend was noted in the prices of gasoline, diesel oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

 Quoting a report of international analysts, NPCC noted that oil prices will continue to go down but may rise in the second half of the year.

 “Another forecast is that prices of oil in the international market will continue to go down throughout the year,” it said.

Inflation

In 2015, the increase in consumer prices slowed by 1.4 percent — compared to 4.1 percent in 2014 – due to cheaper gasoline, food and utility prices.

 The 2015 inflation fell below the government’s target of 2-4 percent.

 This year, inflation is seen to steadily rise and settle within the 2-4 percent target in the middle of 2016 until 2017 due to a base effect coming from a low pace in 2015, NPCC said.

 Also, inflation started to pick up in the last quarter due to rise in food prices brought about by adverse weather conditions such as El Niño and typhoons.  (FREEMAN)