(Eagle News)–Inflation further went down to 1.7 percent in August, data released on Thursday, Sept. 5, by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.
The PSA said this was the lowest inflation rate since the 1.8 percent recorded in October 2016.
Inflation in July was at 2.4 percent, while in August 2018, it was pegged at 6.4 percent.
According to the PSA, the slowdown of inflation in August was “mainly due to the slower annual increase in the index of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 0.6 percent.”
The following, the PSA said, also posted slower annual rates:
- Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 1.8%;
- Health, 3.1%;
- Recreation and culture, 1.8%; and
- Restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 3.2%.
The PSA said the transport index dropped by 0.2 percent.
Higher annual increments, however, were noted in the following:
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco- 10.1 percent
Clothing and footwear- 2.8 percent
Education- 4.6 percent
The PSA said the rest of the retained their annual rates last month.
