Year-on-year headline inflation in the Philippines rose to 1.7 percent in September from 1.5 percent in August, according to preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The figure remains within the BSP’s forecast range of 1.5 to 2.3 percent for the month.

For the first nine months of 2025, inflation averaged 1.7 percent, below the government’s target range of 2 to 4 percent.

The uptick in September inflation was mainly due to higher transport costs, which drove non-food inflation upward.

Food inflation also increased following weather disturbances that affected vegetable production and prices.

Rice prices decline

Meanwhile, rice prices continued to decline due to sufficient domestic supply, lower international rice prices, and government measures to stabilize the market.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, headline inflation eased to 0.1 percent in September from 0.5 percent in August.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy items, also edged lower to 2.6 percent from 2.7 percent in August.

The BSP said it remains committed to maintaining price stability that supports long-term sustainable growth and employment. “The BSP will continue to assess all relevant incoming information to determine the appropriate monetary policy response,” it said.

DA doing its share

Meanwhile the Department of Agriculture (DA) is doing its share to insulate the country’s poorest households from the broader uptick in consumer prices, even as headline inflation reached a six-month high in September.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said that the DA is balancing import measures with targeted domestic interventions to keep prices in check.

“We have ordered the importation of certain vegetables and fish to augment local supplies and keep prices stable,” he said. “Even while imposing a rice import ban — extended through year’s end — we maintained the maximum suggested retail price and have increased the availability of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s P20 rice program in calamity-hit areas.”

In September, food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation among low-income households stayed in deflation at –2.0 percent.