The full-year average inflation in the Philippines for 2018 settled at 5.2 per cent after the average inflation eases during the fourth quarter, the Philippine central bank said on Friday.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that year-on-year headline inflation moderated to an average of 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 from the quarter-ago average of 6.2 percent.

“This brought the full-year average inflation rate to 5.2 per cent, which is above the national government’s (NG) target range of 3.0 per cent plus or minus 1.0 percentage point for the year,” the BSP said in a statement.

The BSP added that food inflation moderated during the review quarter as supply conditions improved for key food items.  Meanwhile, the BSP said non-food inflation also eased in the fourth quarter of 2018, as lower international oil prices exerted downward pressure on transport inflation through lower gasoline and diesel prices.

By contrast, the BSP said core inflation rose to 4.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018, higher than the rates posted in the previous quarter and a year ago.