Inflation further accelerated to 8% in November: PSA

(Eagle News) — Inflation rose to 8% in November, the fastest since the 9.1% recorded in the same month last year.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said this was also faster than the 7.7 percent in October 2022.

With this month’s inflation, the country’s average inflation rate from January to November 2022 stands at 5.6 percent.

According to the PSA,  the sustained acceleration of inflation was mainly due to the “higher year-on-year growth rate in the index of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 10.0 percent, from 9.4 percent in October 2022.”

Also contributing to the uptrend, the PSA said, is the higher annual increment in restaurants and accommodation services at 6.5 percent, up from 5.7 percent in October 2022.

Moreover,  annual increases were also observed in the indices of the following commodity groups, relative to their figures last year:

a. Tobacco, 10.6 percent;

b. Clothing and footwear, 3.6 percent;

c. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 4.5 percent;

d. Health, 2.8 percent;

e. Information and communication, 0.7 percent;

f.  Recreation, sport and culture, 3.3 percent;

g. Education services, 3.6 percent; and

h. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 4.2 percent.

Slower year-on-year increases were also observed in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 6.9 percent; and transport at 12.3 percent.

The financial services index retained its inflation rate from last month.

According to the PSA, food inflation at the national level rose further to 10.3 percent in November 2022, up from the 9.8 percent recorded in October 2022.