THE country’s inflation held its ground in October, unchanged at 1.7 percent from September, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The figure was lower than the 2.3 percent inflation recorded in the same month last year, bringing the year-to-date average from January to October to 1.7 percent.
According to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, the stable inflation reflected the effectiveness of government measures in tempering supply pressures and maintaining price stability.
‘The steady headline inflation rate shows that our coordinated interventions are helping to maintain adequate supplies and keeping essential goods affordable,’ he said in a statement.
‘We remain vigilant in managing risks from weather disturbances, global market volatility, and other domestic factors that may affect prices in the coming months.’
Earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas projected October inflation to fall within the 1.4 to 2.2 percent range.
Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels continued to be the main driver of inflation, with a 2.7-percent increase and a 34.6 percent share in the overall index.
Meanwhile, restaurants and accommodation services followed with a 14.6-percent share (0.2 percentage point contribution), while food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 13.0 percent (0.2 percentage point).
Faster price increases were recorded in four commodity groups during the month: Clothing and footwear (1.8 percent from 1.7 percent), housing and utilities (2.7 percent from 2.1 percent), information and communication (0.7 percent from 0.6 percent) and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services (2.5 percent from 2.4 percent).
On the contrary, slower inflation was observed in food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.5 percent from 1.0 percent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (4.0 percent from 4.1 percent), health (2.7 percent from 2.8 percent), transport (0.9 percent from 1.0 percent), and recreation, sport, and culture (1.9 percent from 2.1 percent).
The PSA identified five key commodities that largely shaped October’s inflation: other pelagic fish (11.7 percent, contributing 0.4 percentage point), rentals (2.6 percent, 0.3 percentage point), pork (9.8 percent, 0.3 percentage point), restaurants and cafes (2.5 percent, 0.3 percentage point) and electricity (4.1 percent, 0.2 percentage point).
Meanwhile, food inflation continued to ease nationwide at only 0.3 percent in October from 0.8 percent in September. In October 2024, food inflation stood at a much higher 3 percent.
Core inflation also slowed slightly to 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent in the previous month.
By region, inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) quickened to 2.9 percent from 2.7 percent in September, while areas outside NCR saw inflation ease to 1.3 percent from 1.5 percent.
Central Visayas posted the highest regional inflation at 2.6 percent, while the Bangsamoro region recorded the lowest, with deflation at -1.3 percent.
Inflation among the country’s poorest households stood at 0.4 percent in October, rebounding from -0.2 percent in September but sharply lower than the 3.4 percent recorded in the same month a year earlier.