Benise Balaoing

Motorists line up at a gasoline station along Philcoa in Diliman, Quezon City on Friday, March 6, in a rush to refuel ahead of the expected fuel price increase next week. Long queues of cars and motorcycles formed as drivers tried to fill up before the anticipated hike in gasoline and diesel prices.  Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

OIL PRICE HIKE

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177492818879420220817-sugar-products-grocery-GC-1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Store clerks attend to customers inside a mini grocery selling snacks and various sweets in Manila on August 17, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Inflation may have climbed to somewhere between 3.1 and 3.9 percent in March, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Tuesday.</p><p>The BSP said higher prices of <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/30/oil-prices-jump-again-as-march-ends-1640" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">petroleum</a>, rice, and <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/10/meralco-power-rates-to-go-up-in-march-1113" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">power</a> may have driven prices upward, along with the fall of the peso.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/30/peso-falls-to-record-low-for-7th-time-in-march-1704">Peso falls to record low for seventh time in March</a></div><p>Lower vegetable, fish, and meat prices, meanwhile, may help keep inflation lower.</p><p>Philippine inflation picked up to <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/5/inflation-quickens-to-2-4-pct-in-february-0910" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2.4 percent</a> in February, driven by higher housing and food prices. Back then, National Statistician Dennis Mapa already said inflation may go higher in the coming months because of the war in the Middle East.</p><p>Last week, the Bangko Sentral said it sees inflation averaging <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/26/bsp-projects-average-inflation-to-hit-5-1-1821" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">5.1 percent</a> in 2026 due to <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/31/oil-up-as-trump-threatens-iran-1034" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fuel price shocks</a> stemming from the conflict in the Middle East, where the US and Israel ignited a regional conflict by attacking Iran in late February.</p><p>This is higher than earlier projections and also higher than the government target of 2 to 4 percent.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xwOiRKsIbEw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Inflation may have climbed to somewhere between 3.1 and 3.9 percent in March.</p>

BSP sees inflation climbing to 3.1 to 3.9 pct in March

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BSP sees inflation climbing to 3.1 to 3.9 pct in March

Benise Balaoing,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 31, 2026 11:40 AM PHT

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oil prices

inflation

electricty

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