The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday, December 5, that the country's inflation rate saw a significant uptick in November.
Headline inflation, or the rise in prices of goods and services in the country, climbed to 2.5% in November 2024. This figure is higher than October's 2.3% but significantly lower than the 4.1% recorded in November 2023.
PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa stated that the average inflation rate from January to November this year stands at 3.2%.
The rise in inflation in November was primarily driven by the sharp increase in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which jumped to 3.4% from 2.9% in October 2024.
This accounted for a 65.9% share of the overall inflation increase in the country.
The primary contributors to the inflation in food and non-alcoholic beverages were the rising prices of vegetables, tubers, fish, and other seafood—particularly tilapia—and meat.
The second factor behind the rise in inflation was the slower decline in transportation costs. This accounted for a 28.4% share of the overall inflation increase in the country.
Additional contributors to inflation in November were costs associated with housing, water, electricity, gas, other fuels, restaurants, and accommodation services.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), headline inflation accelerated to 2.2% in November from 1.4% in October, reflecting higher costs across various sectors.
