Likewise, core inflation, which excludes selected volatile food and energy items to depict underlying demand-side price pressures, increased to 5.9 per cent in October from 5.0 per cent (revised) in the previous month, according to a press release by the BSP. On a month-on-month (MoM) seasonally adjusted basis, inflation also went up to 1.0 per cent in October from 0.6 per cent in September.

Headline inflation in the Philippines rose to 7.7 per cent YoY in October 2022 from 6.9 per cent in September as per the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This was within the BSP’s forecast range of 7.1-7.9 per cent. The resulting year-to-date average inflation of 5.4 per cent is above the government’s average inflation target range of 2.0-4.0 per cent.

The higher inflation was due mainly to the faster price increases of food commodities. Meanwhile, transport inflation slowed down in October following domestic petroleum price rollbacks, which more than offset the increases in fares for jeepneys, buses, taxi, and transport network vehicle services (TNVS).

The latest inflation reading affirms the BSP’s assessment that inflation is likely to remain above target in the near term amid broadening price pressures and second-round effects.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)