Philippine inflation sizzles to over three-year high in September

By Katherine K. Chan, Reporter

PHILIPPINE INFLATION sharply accelerated to its fastest pace in over three years in September due to higher food, transport and utility costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.

Headline inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), quickened to 7.2% in September from 6.1% in August and 1.7% a year ago.

This matched the April clip and was the fastest in three-and-a-half years or since the 7.6% in March 2023.

The September reading was faster than the 6.7% median estimate of 22 analysts in a BusinessWorld poll, but within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 6.4%-7.4% estimate.

The headline clip has been above the BSP’s 3% target for seven consecutive months, bringing the average inflation to 5.4% as of September.

According to National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa, faster price increases in food, transport, and utilities fueled faster inflation last month.

Inflation for the heavily weighted food and nonalcoholic beverages index picked up to 6.7% in September from 4.6% in August, marking the fastest pace since the 6.8% in May.

Mr. Mapa noted inflation for vegetables, tubers, and the like accelerated to 10.7% in September from -3.4% in August, while rice inflation heated up to an over two-year high of 20.3% from 19.4%.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, quickened to 4.7% in September from 4.1% a month ago and 2.6% a year earlier.

This was the same clip recorded in November 2023 and was the quickest core print in nearly three years or since the 5.3% in October 2023.