EVEN as the Philippines’s headline inflation eased for the fourth straight month, the central bank said it is closely watching the impact of recent developments in the Middle East and weather-related disturbances.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said this on Friday after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that overall inflation in the country eased to 6.1 percent in August 2026, from 6.2 percent in July 2026.
While lower food inflation led to the further easing of headline inflation, the central bank pointed out that average headline inflation for the first eight months of 2026 settled at 5.2 percent.
This was still above the full-year target of 3-percent and the tolerance range of plus or minus 1 percentage point.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy items, likewise moderated from 4.2 percent in July to 4.1 percent in August, the central bank also noted.
‘Overall food inflation went down amid a more stable domestic supply, driven by the decline in vegetable prices and the slowdown in inflation for fish. By contrast, rice inflation accelerated, partly due to higher logistics costs,’ the BSP said.
Lower electricity and water rates moderated inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, the central bank noted.
The BSP said inflation in August was within its forecast range of 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent for the month.
Nonetheless, the central bank said: ‘The BSP will continue to closely monitor the impact of recent developments in the Middle East and weather-related disturbances.’
‘Going forward, the BSP will remain guided by incoming data and its assessment of risks to the inflation outlook,’ BSP also noted.