Business

Lucena's 'tinapa' top seller in DTI's 'Kalakal' store

LUCENA CITY – This city's One Town, One Product (OTOP), the gourmet "tinapa" or smoked fish is the top-selling product at the Kalakal-Quezon shop located at the Grand Central Terminal here.The store, a project of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the province, opened last week.In... Read More

Diokno eyes inflation to decelerate starting Q1

MANILA – The country’s inflation rate surged further to a fresh 14-year high of 8.7 percent in January, exceeding expectations and its likely peak in December 2022 but Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno targets deceleration starting this quarter partly due to declining oil... Read More

RCEP to help PH pursue energy blueprint: DOE exec

MANILA – An energy official said on Tuesday the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will help the Philippines achieve its long-term plan for energy security while contributing to mitigating the impacts of climate change.“We are utilizing this agreement to pursue the... Read More

January 2023 inflation hits 8.7%

MANILA – The country’s headline inflation rate in January 2023 increased to 8.7 percent from 8.1 percent in December 2022, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Undersecretary Dennis Mapa reported Tuesday.Mapa said the rate of price increments of goods and services in January this year... Read More

T-bill rates lower vs. secondaries

MANILA – The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) fully awarded on Monday the 91-, 182- and 364-day Treasury bills (T-bills) after these fetched lower rates compared to those in the secondary market. However, relative to the T-bill auction last Jan. 30, rates of the debt papers after the auction this... Read More

Stocks, peso slip ahead of January inflation report

MANILA – The local bourse’s main index closed lower Monday ahead of the release of the January 2023 inflation report while the peso slipped to 54-level, which has been traced to correction against the United States dollar. After rising several days last week, the Philippine Stock... Read More

Oil up over positive demand expectations in China

ANKARA–Oil prices increased marginally on Monday over positive demand projections in the world's largest oil importer, China.International benchmark Brent crude traded at USD80.15 per barrel at 09.41 a.m. local time (0641 GMT), up 0.3 percent from the closing price of USD79.94 a barrel in the... Read More

DTI vows to continue monitoring onion despite declining prices

MANILA – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has vowed to continue helping the Department of Agriculture (DA) in monitoring the prices of onion in the markets even as the price of the commodity continue to decline.DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo made the statement during the Laging... Read More

Big-time oil price rollback set Feb. 7

MANILA – After three straight weeks of price increases, oil companies will slash pump prices starting 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.In separate advisories, Caltex, Clean Fuel, Petro Gazz, Seaoil and Shell announced gasoline price rollback by PHP2.10 per liter and PHP3 per liter on diesel.Caltex, Seaoil... Read More

Global food prices drop for 10th straight month in January

ANKARA – Global food prices fell for the 10th consecutive month in January, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Friday.The FAO Food Price Index averaged 131.2 points in January, down 0.8 percent from the previous month.The decline in the main reading was led by decreases... Read More

Oil down amid Fed rate hike decision, pending China data release

ANKARA – Oil prices fell steadily on Friday due to demand concerns, with the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) signaling further rate hikes after raising its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points while investors await the release of China's industry data.International benchmark Brent... Read More

PH debt-to-GDP ratio still not at alarming level

MANILA – The share of the country’s total liabilities to gross domestic product (GDP) has declined to 60.9 percent by end-2022 but it is not considered to be an alarming level given the strong economic fundamentals, Deputy Treasurer Erwin Sta. Ana said Friday.In an interview during the... Read More

Peso strengthens, PSEi up on positive earnings reports

MANILA – Positive earnings reports of listed firms here and in the United States helped boost the local bourse’s main index on Friday while the peso strengthened further against the US dollar. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained by 0.59 percent, or 41.19 points, to 7,027.38... Read More

Apple posts largest decline in sales since 2019

ANKARA–Apple’s overall sales decreased 5 percent year-on-year during the first fiscal quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2022, the largest decline since 2019.According to a report on quarterly earnings from the US-based global tech giant on Thursday, Apple's revenue decreased to USD117.2... Read More

DOE to achieve renewable energy goals via reforms

MANILA – The Department of Energy (DOE) is optimistic that the country will be able to achieve its long-term renewable energy (RE) goals through the policy reforms of the Marcos administration.During the Laging Handa public briefing Friday, DOE Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said President... Read More

28-day BSP securities rate up on strong demand

MANILA – Strong demand for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 28-day bill resulted in the rise of the debt paper's interest rate on Friday.Auction results released by the central bank showed that the average rate of the bill rose to 6.3584 percent from 6.3545 percent during the... Read More

Peso strengthens to 53-level after Fed rate hike; PSEi slips

MANILA – The widely expected 25 basis point increase in the Federal Reserve’s key rates resulted in the negative close of the local bourse’s main index on Thursday but the peso improved against the United States dollar.The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.70 percent,... Read More

Gov’t 2022 debt down on peso appreciation, economic recovery

MANILA – The continued recovery of the domestic economy, along with the strengthening of the Philippine peso against the US dollar, helped reduce the peso value of the national government’s (NG) total liabilities by end-2022 to PHP13.42 trillion compared to the previous month’s.The... Read More

Cambodia offers cheaper rice to PH

MANILA – Cambodia is exploring opportunities to directly export rice to the Philippines, offering an alternative and cheaper source of rice for the country.Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual met with a Cambodian delegation on Thursday, led by chief executive... Read More

CA nod cements Pascual’s commitment in DTI

MANILA – Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual said his confirmation by the Commission on Appointments (CA) has cemented his commitment to serve and make significant reforms in the agency to help in sustaining the country’s economic growth.In a media roundtable... Read More