February inflation accelerates to 4.7%
Inflation heated up again in February, rising to 4.7%YoY with food supply chains challenged by the African Swine Fever (ASF) and recent storm damage. The ongoing ASF episode forced meat prices, which account for roughly 6% of the CPI basket, to surge by 20.7% while fruits and vegetables (+16.7%) remained pricey due to crop destruction from a spate of typhoons late last year. Transport costs (+10.4%) also pushed the headline reading higher due to the pickup in global crude oil prices and in large part due to costs associated with Covid-19 related health guidelines. Food and transport inflation contributed 3.4 percentage points to the headline total of 4.7%, highlighting that the recent breach is caused by a few specific index-heavy components. Meanwhile, recreation and leisure activities remained in deflation (-0.7%) as demand side pressures remain largely absent due to the ongoing pandemic.
