Inflation quickens to 2.5% in Nov

Driven by higher food prices, inflation accelerated for the second straight month in November, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

- By LOUELLA DESIDERIO and KEISHA TA-ASAN

In a press briefing yesterday, PSA chief Dennis Mapa said headline inflation – the rate of increase in average prices of goods and services typically purchased by Filipino consumers – quickened to 2.5 percent in November from 2.3 percent in October.

Last month's inflation figure, however, is lower than the 4.1 percent print in the same month last year, and was also within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' forecast range of 2.2 to three percent.

Mapa attributed the uptrend in overall inflation to the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages, which posted a faster uptick of 3.4 percent in November from 2.9 percent in October.

Inflation for food alone went up to 3.5 percent in November from the previous month's three percent due mainly to the increase in vegetable prices.

Rice inflation, on the other hand, slowed to 5.1 percent in November from the previous month's 9.6 percent.

"Our expectation for December is inflation for rice will go down, which is good news for households," Mapa said, noting this is also being reflected in retail prices.

For the January to November period, inflation averaged 3.2 percent, still within the government's target range of two to four percent.

"Despite the strong typhoons our country faced in recent months, consumer prices have remained relatively stable. This demonstrates the resilience of our economy and the effectiveness of our policies," National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.