For the first time in three months, the Philippines’ inflation rate slowed, easing to 6.8 percent in May from 7.2 percent in April, as transport and food price increases moderated, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The latest figure brought average inflation for the first five months of 2026 to 4.5 percent, although it remained significantly higher than the 1.3 percent recorded in May last year.
Transport costs
The deceleration was largely driven by slower growth in transport costs, which rose 16.2 percent in May compared with 21.4 percent a month earlier.
Lower inflation was also recorded for food and non-alcoholic beverages at 5.7 percent from 6.0 percent, and for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 7.8 percent from 8.2 percent.
Despite the easing trend, food, housing and transport remained the biggest contributors to overall inflation, accounting for nearly four-fifths of the headline rate.
Food inflation at the national level also slowed to 5.8 percent from 6.1 percent in April. The decline was attributed mainly to slower increases in vegetable prices and lower meat costs.
However, staple commodities continued to exert pressure on household budgets. Rice inflation accelerated to 15.6 percent from 13.7 percent, while corn inflation climbed to 25.5 percent from 21 percent.
Inflation risks to remain
National Statistician and PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa said risks to inflation remain in the coming months, particularly from fuel prices and rising rice costs.
“Moving forward into June, we face some risks, particularly from external factors affecting fuel prices. Although fuel prices have declined, we will continue to monitor developments closely. On the food side, we also observed some risks in May. Rice prices increased, and we know that rice carries a significant weight in our inflation basket, especially for the bottom 30 percent of households,” Mapa said.
Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, edged up to 4.1 percent from 3.9 percent, indicating that underlying price pressures remain elevated.
Metro Manila inflation eased 5.0% from 5.5%
In Metro Manila, inflation eased to 5.0 percent from 5.5 percent, while areas outside the National Capital Region posted a slower rate of 7.1 percent from 7.7 percent.
For the bottom 30 percent of income households, inflation slipped slightly to 8.4 percent from 8.5 percent. However, food inflation for low-income families accelerated to 8.9 percent, driven by rising prices of rice, corn and other cereal products.
Among regions outside Metro Manila, the Negros Island Region recorded the lowest inflation rate at 5.4 percent, while Central Visayas registered the highest at 10.8 percent.