Inflation rises 3.4% in February, ending 4-month decline
MANILA, Philippines — The country's inflation rate gained momentum in February 2024 as the costs of food and non-alcoholic beverages surged, ending a four-month decline.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, National Statistician and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) chief Claire Dennis Mapa said that inflation increased to 3.4% in February 2024, up from 2.8% in January 2024.
Mapa attributed the accelerated inflation to the swifter rise in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, climbing to 4.6% from the previous month's 3.5%.
The deceleration in the price drop of vegetables, tubers, cooking bananas and others, marked by a -11.0% inflation rate, significantly contributed to the uptick of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Core inflation, however, slowed to 3.6% in February 2024, lower than the previous month's 3.8% and notably lower than February 2023's 7.3%.
Aside from food and non-alcoholic beverages, the annual increase in transport also contributed to the upward trend, with a 1.2% inflation, contrasting the 0.3% decline observed last month.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel products also contributed to the upward trend, registering a faster annual increase of 0.9% in February compared to January 2024's 0.7%.
The acceleration in inflation for alcoholic beverages and tobacco added to the overall faster pace, with a rise to 8.6% in February 2024, compared to the previous month's 8.4%.
February's inflation falls within the forecast range of 2.8% to 3.6% by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Food prices rose faster this month, reaching 4.8% from January's 3.3%, but it's still lower than the 11.1% recorded in February 2023.
The index for meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals rose by 0.7% annually in February, marking a turnaround from the 0.7% decline observed in January 2024.
Cereals and related products, including rice, corn, flour, bread, bakery products, pasta products and other grains, also contributed in the country's rising food inflation.
It increased faster, reaching 17.0% in February, compared to the previous month's 16.3%.
Rice inflation stays high at 23.7%, slightly up/down from last month's 22.6%. According to Mapa, this is the highest since February 2009, which recorded 24.6%.
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