MANILA: The Philippines will unlikely see an inflation flare-up similar to that in February as global prices of rice, a Filipino food staple, have started to ease, according to analysts at First Metro Investment Corp (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P).

In their latest “The Market Call” report released on Monday, FMIC and UA&P said inflation would be reined in by both lower costs of rice and a potentially mild increase in crude oil prices amid anaemic economic activity in China and excess supply.

“We also don’t see a repeat of the February inflation spike as rice prices abroad had begun to ease while crude oil prices have little upside given the weak China economic recovery and surplus capacity in both the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-Opec countries,” according to the report.

Last week, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Eli Remolona Jr said price gains in March could potentially come close to the upper-limit of the central bank’s 2% to 4% target range at 3.9% as favourable base effects fade.

 - ANN