PH Headline Inflation Down to 4.9% in October 2023

In the latest report by the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA), the country’s headline inflation has decreased to 4.9% in October 2023 from 6.1% in September 2023, bringing the average inflation from January 2023 to October 2023 to 6.4%.

The slow year-on-year increase in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, including restaurant and accommodation services helped lower the headline inflation rate in the country.

Additionally, various other commodity groups such as alcoholic beverages, tobacco, household equipment, health, transport, recreation, personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services saw slower annual increases.

Meanwhile, clothing and footwear, housing, and information and communication have seen a slight increase in inflation rates.

The primary contributors that affected overall inflation in October were food and non-alcoholic beverages, restaurants and accommodations services,

The top three contributors for the October 2023 overall inflation are:

a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages with 53.7% share or 2.6% points
b. Restaurants and accommodation services with 12.3% share or 0.6% point
c. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels with 11.3% share or 0.6 percentage point

Food inflation decreased to 7.1% at the national level in October 2023 from 10% in September 2023. The decrease is attributed to the lower annual growth of the prices of vegetables, rice, and various other food groups. Corn and oils and fats even recorded decreases in their annual growth rates. Meanwhile, milk, other dairy products, eggs, and fruits and nuts saw higher year-on-year growth rates.

Food inflation contributed significantly to the overall inflation, with cereals and cereal products, vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses being the key contributors.

The core inflation in the country, which excludes selected food and energy items, decreased to 5.3 percent in October 2023 from 5.9 percent in September 2023. (ASC)