(Eagle News) — Headline inflation in the Philippines slowed down to 8.6 percent in February 2023.
According to Philippine Statistics Authority data, this is slower than the 8.7 percent reported in January 2023.
The PSA said of the 13 commodity groups, “transport was the sole driver of the downtrend of the overall inflation during the month..,” with a 9.0 percent inflation rate reported in February 2023 from 11.1 percent inflation in January 2023.
The PSA said these nine commodity groups showed higher inflation rates:
a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages, 10.8 percent;
b. Tobacco, 11.0 percent;
c. Clothing and footwear, 4.8 percent;
d. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 6.2 percent;
e. Health, 4.0 percent;
f. Information and communication, 0.8 percent;
g. Recreation, sport and culture, 4.4 percent;
h. Restaurants and accommodation services, 8.1 percent; and
i. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 5.3 percent.
“The indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; and education services moved at their previous month’s annual rates at 8.6 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively,” the PSA said.
Meanwhile, the financial services index continued to record a zero percent annual rate.
The PSA said inflation in Metro Manila, on the other hand, increased further to 8.7 percent from 8.6 percent in January 2023.
