By Researcher INFLATION eased in March after five straight months of acceleration, as food prices increased at a slower pace, the government’s statistical agency reported on Tuesday. Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed headline inflation at 4.5% in March, slowing from the year-on-year rate of 4.7% in February. However, this was still above the 2.5% recorded in March last year. The latest headline figure is lower than the 4.8% median in a BusinessWorld poll conducted late last week and falls within the 4.2%-5% estimate given by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for March. Year-to-date inflation settled at 4.5%, beyond the BSP’s 2-4% target this year and above the forecast of 4.2% for the entire year.