The headline inflation in the Philippines eased to 4.8 percent in September 2021, from 4.9 percent in August 2021. This brings the country’s average inflation from January to September 2021 at 4.5 percent. Inflation in September 2020 was posted at 2.3 percent.
The slower pace in the overall inflation in September 2021 was mainly due to the lower annual rate of increment in the transport index at 5.2 percent during the month, from 7.2 percent in the previous month. Annual upticks also slowed down in the indices of the following commodity groups during the month:
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, 6.2 percent;
Furnishing, household equipment, and routine maintenance of the house, 2.4 percent;
Communication, 0.2 percent; and
Education, 0.9 percent.
The indices of other commodity groups exhibited, however, higher inflation during the month, except for health index, which retained its previous month’s annual rate of 3.1 percent.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation, in September 2021 remained at 3.3 percent. In September 2020, core inflation was observed at 3.2 percent.
Inflation for food index at the national level slowed down to 6.5 percent in September 2021, from 6.9 percent in the previous month. In September 2020, inflation for food index was recorded at 1.5 percent.
The annual growth rate of fruits index declined by -0.4 percent during the month, from 0.1 percent annual increase in the previous month. In addition, the double-digit annual increments in the indices of meat and fish slid to 15.6 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively.
The indices of other food groups, however, posted higher annual hikes during the month, except for rice index, which posted a zero percent annual growth.
Source: PSA
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