Consumers experienced a slight relief from inflation last November as prices increased more slowly than in October, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Tuesday.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, the PSA said the country's inflation rate continued its slowdown, dropping to 4.1% in November from the 4.9 percent recorded in October.
PSA also noted a slower pace from the 8.8 percent inflation rate reported in November 2022.
The November figure aligns with the lower end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' month-ahead 4.0 percent to 4.8 percent forecast range.
Inflation has slowed down for the second month in a row. This comes after a surge in rice prices caused inflation to reach a four-month peak in September before subsiding in October.
"The primary reason for the lower level of inflation in November 2023 compared to October 2023 is the slower increase in the prices of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages," PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa said in a briefing.
Mapa said the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index showed a lower inflation rate of 5.7 percent in November compared to 7 percent in October.
The statistician attributed the notable decline in vegetable prices to the absence of weather disturbances that typically cause short-term supply disruptions. When comparing year-on-year data, November 2022 had a higher-than-usual inflation rate for vegetables.
But as the holiday season approaches, Mapa said the ongoing high inflation in rice and dairy products might still impact Filipino buyers.
He said rice inflation accelerated to 15.8 percent year-on-year (up from 13.2 percent), while milk, other dairy products, and eggs saw a rise to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent.
"We saw that in the first two weeks, rice prices rose, and this increase continued in the next weeks. This explains the increase in November after a slowdown in October," Mapa said.
Mapa added that prices of regular, well-milled, and special rice increased across the board month-on-month, driving up rice inflation.
