The inflation rate in the country surged further to 6.9 percent in September, the highest inflation record since October 2018, according to the latest report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
The September headline inflation was above the 6.3 percent recorded last August.
From January to September 2022, PSA data shows that the average inflation rate stood at 5.1 percent. This is higher than the 4.2 percent inflation in September 2021.
The increase in the September 2022 inflation at the national level was primarily attributed to a higher annual growth rate in the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages at 7.4 percent from 6.3 percent in August.
This was followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 7.3 percent annual growth from 6.8 percent in August.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), the inflation rate accelerated to 6.5 percent in September from 5.7 percent in August.
“The acceleration of inflation in NCR was brought about by the higher annual hike in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 8.5 percent, from 6.2 percent in August 2022,” it said.
“Also contributing to the uptrend in the inflation in NCR were the higher annual increases in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 5.3 percent; recreation, sport, and culture at 1.5 percent; and restaurants and accommodation services at 5.9 percent,” it added.
Meanwhile, the inflation rate in areas outside NCR (AONCR) rose to 7.0 percent in September from 6.5 percent in August.
“The acceleration of inflation in AONCR in September 2022 was primarily due to the higher annual growths in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 7.2 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 8.0 percent; and restaurants and accommodation services at 4.2 percent,” the PSA said.
The Zamboanga Peninsula and Davao Region had the highest inflation rate on record at 9.6 percent; while Cagayan Valley and Calabarzon had the lowest at 5.9 percent.
The agency noted that all regions outside NCR except Eastern Visayas had high inflation rates in September.
