Philippine consumer prices rose 7.2 percent in September from a year earlier, up from 6.1 percent in August, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday. Food and transport drove most of the increase, although the reading still fell inside the 6.4 to 7.4 percent range the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) had projected for the month.
Food inflation reached 6.8 percent, compared with 4.6 percent in August. Rice cost 20.3 percent more than a year ago, and vegetable prices were up 10.7 percent. Transport inflation sped up to 14.6 percent, as gasoline prices rose 40.9 percent and diesel 61.3 percent year on year. Housing and utility costs climbed 8.4 percent. For the first nine months of the year, inflation averaged 5.4 percent.
The increase was uneven across the country and across income groups. For households in the bottom 30 percent, prices for their usual basket of goods rose 9 percent. Areas outside the capital region saw inflation of 7.6 percent, with the Bangsamoro autonomous region at 9.7 percent, while Metro Manila came in at 5.4 percent. Core inflation, which leaves out volatile food and energy items, rose to 4.7 percent from 4.1 percent. National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said that is the highest core rate since October 2023, when it stood at 5.1 percent.
Mapa also cautioned that the September figures do not yet capture the transport fare increases approved late in the month. He said those will show up in the October data and that the increases are fairly large. A forecast “Super El Niño” could also hurt food production in the coming months. Economy, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said September’s rise came mainly from “disruptions in food supply caused by adverse weather and higher global oil prices.”
The government has suspended excise taxes on LPG and kerosene, capped electricity prices, waived tolls on farm produce, and expanded palay storage to ease the burden on households, according to the Department of Economy, Planning and Development. The data arrives after the BSP raised its key interest rates by 25 basis points at its most recent meeting. The central bank warned at the time that conflict in the Middle East could keep prices high.
