Inflation rate climbs to 7.7% in October
Year-on-year inflation rate in the Philippines accelerated to 7.7 percent in October from 6.9 percent in September, the highest since October 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.
With the October inflation, the PSA reported that the average inflation rate in the Philippines from January to October 2022 was 5.4%. The inflation rate was 4% in October 2021, while the core inflation rate was 2.5%.
The higher inflation rate in important commodity groupings, particularly food and non-alcoholic drinks, which increased to 9.4% percent from 7.4 percent in September, was what drove the October inflation rate, according to PSA head Dennis Mapa during a news conference.
Meat, fish, and vegetables; electricity, gas, and other fuels; operation of personal transportation; food and beverage services; passenger transport services; and housing rentals are some of the major contributors to inflation in October 2022.
Arsenio Balisacan, secretary of socioeconomic planning, ascribed the price increase to “external price pressure,” such as the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, which has disrupted global supply lines.
The country’s October inflation rate was also influenced by the “”lingering aftermath of recent typhoons that hit the country in late September,” noted Arsenio.
The PSA reported that the core inflation rate, which removes volatile food and energy prices from the headline inflation rate, increased to 5.9 percent in October from September’s 5 percent.
