(Eagle News) — The Philippine headline inflation increased to 2.5 percent in October from 2.3 percent the previous month bringing the year-to-date inflation this year at also 2.5 percent, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“Higher overall inflation was primarily brought about by the increase in the inflation of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 2.1 percent during the month, from 1.5 percent in September 2020,” the PSA said in its latest report.
The PSA said that the “annual mark-ups were higher in the indices of education at 1.2 percent, and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 2.4 percent.”
The inflation for food index at national level also “moved up at a faster pace of 2.1 percent during the month after five consecutive months of deceleration.”
In September 2020, inflation for food was registered at 1.5 percent, and in October 2019, it dropped at -1.3 percent, the PSA report said.
It said that the higher inflation for food index was caused mainly by the “jump in the inflation of the meat index at 4.7 percent” during October, from 2.9 percent in September.
Annual rates of increments were also higher in the indices of fish, and oils and fats at 3.7 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
-Inflation slows down in indices of clothing, health, transport –
But the PSA noted “slowdowns in the inflation” in the indices of the following commodity groups:
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 11.3 percent;
Clothing and footwear, 1.7 percent;
Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 0.9 percent;
Health, 2.7 percent; and
Transport, 7.9 percent.
“The index for recreation and culture was still on a downtrend as its annual rate declined further at -0.6 percent during the month. Meanwhile, the indices for furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, and communication retained their previous month’s annual growth rates of 3.7 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively,” it said.
“Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, however, decelerated to 3.0 percent in October 2020, from 3.2 percent in the previous month. In October 2019, core inflation was posted at 2.6 percent.”
The PSA noted slower annual increases in the indices of the following food groups:
Other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products, 2.2 percent;
Milk, cheese, and egg, 2.2 percent;
Fruits, 4.6 percent;
Sugar, jam, honey, chocolate, and confectionery , 0.2 percent; and
Food products, not elsewhere classified, 4.8 percent.
The other food groups such as rice, corn, and vegetables continued to register negative annual rates during the month.
-Inflation in NCR, provinces also rise-
The PSA also said that inflation in Metro Manila also up to 2.5 percent last month, from 2.2 percent in September.
In October 2019, when there was still no COVID-19 pandemic, the inflation in the area stood at 1.3 percent.
Similar to the trend of the national level and Metro Manila, inflation in areas outside Metro Manila also picked up by 2.5 percent during October, from 2.4 percent in September 2020.
In October 2019, inflation these areas outside the Philippine capital was recorded at 0.7 percent.
(Eagle News Service)
