Philippine annual inflation at 4.6 pct in June

* June annual inflation 4.6 pct vs mkt forecast of 4.9 pct

* Core inflation 4.0 pct vs 4.0 pct market estimate

* Headline inflation at highest since April 2009

MANILA, July 5 (Reuters) - The Philippines' annual inflation
rate rose slightly to 4.6 percent in June from 4.5 percent in
May to be at its highest since April 2009, the statistics office
said on Tuesday.

The increase in the consumer price index under the 2000 base
year series compares with analysts' forecasts of 4.9 percent,
according to a Reuters poll.

The index under the new series with 2006 as the base year,
rose 5.2 percent, the office said. This index was released for
the first time on Tuesday and will later become the standard for
inflation reports:

KEY DATA Consumer price index (2000 base)
Change in pct Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan
Headline (yr/yr) 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.3 3.6
Core (yr/yr) 4.0 3.7 3.3 3.5 3.6 3.3
Headline (mth/mth) 0.4 0.0 0.6 0.3 1.1 0.8

* Note: Core consumer prices strip out some food and fuel
items.

Consumer price index (new 2006 base)
Change in pct Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan
Headline (yr/yr) 5.2 5.0 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.0
Headline (mth/mth) 0.5 0.2 n/a n/a n/a n/a

KEY POINTS:

* Annual headline inflation came in at the lower end of the
central bank's forecast of 4.6 percent to 5.5 percent. The
forecast used the old 2000 base.

* Governor Amando Tetangco said last week the central bank
was monitoring the impact of developments in Europe and the
United States on domestic liquidity, inflation and capital,
adding the central bank would ensure liquidity won't create
additional inflationary pressures.

* The central bank's target is to keep average inflation
between 3 to 5 percent this year and next year. Officials have
projected inflation would peak in the fourth quarter before
moderating into 2012.

* The central bank had previously expected inflation to peak
in the second or third quarter.

* The central bank kept its key policy rate steady at 4.5
percent at its June 16 meeting after two rate increases since
March, but it raised the banks' reserve requirements by one
percentage point to dampen liquidity pressures from strong
capital inflows.

* Some analysts expect the central bank to follow up with
another percentage point increase in banks' required reserves to
21 percent, the level before the global financial crisis, before
it resumes raising the policy rate.

* The central bank will meet on July 28 to review rates.

LINKS:
- PREVIEW on May inflation......................
- Details on rebasing of the inflation data.....
- INTERVIEW with BSP Governor Amando Tetangco...
- NSO Website: ................www.census.gov.ph

(Reporting by Erik dela Cruz; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)