Inflation eases further to 1.9% in September

The country’s inflation rate continued its deceleration streak for the second straight month in September, marking its slowest footing in over four years, amid slowdown of growth in food and transportation costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

At a press conference, National Statistician and PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa said that inflation —which measures the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services— eased further to 1.9% last month, a sharp decline from the 3.3% rate in August.

This is the lowest print since May 2020, when inflation clocked in at 1.6%.

This brought the year-to-date inflation print to 3.4%, still within the government’s ceiling of 2% to 4% for the entire year.

“Ang pangunahing dahilan ng mas mababang antas ng inflation nitong Setyembre 2024 kaysa noong Agosto 2024 ay ang mas mabagal na pagtaas ng presyo ng Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages sa antas na 1.4%,” Mapa said.

(The primary cause for the lower inflation in September 2024 compared to August 2024 was the slower increase in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ inflation rate at 1.4%.)

“Ito ay may 69.1% share sa pagbaba ng pangkahalatang inflation sa bansa,” the PSA chief added.

(This had a share of 69.1% to the decline in overall inflation in the country.)

The slowdown in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ inflation was brought by the decline in the cost of vegetables, tubers, and cooking bananas with a rate of -15.8%.

Also contributing to the slowdown in inflation rate last month was the easing seen in the Transport index with a rate of -2.4% and 14.6% share to the overall decline.

This was due to the drop in gasoline and diesel prices with inflation rates of -13.8% and -19.6, respectively.

The Housing, Water, Electricity, and Other Fuels index was the third reason for the easing of September’s inflation, posting a rate of 3.2% and 9.4% share to the overall slowdown.

Moreover, food inflation, which tracks the price movements of food items in a "basket" commonly purchased by households, cooled down to 1.4% from 4.2% month-on-month.

The easing of food inflation last month was mainly due to the sharp decline in rice inflation at 5.7% from 14.7% in the prior month.

“The continued slowdown in inflation is expected to boost consumer confidence, driving higher spending and consumption and fueling business expansion. Additionally, easing food prices will relieve low-income households, enabling them to allocate more to other essential needs such as education and health. We will sustain the momentum as we assure the public that we will continue to pursue and carry out strategies to maintain stable prices of food and other commodities,” said National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

Inflation in Metro Manila, outside NCR

Tracking the national trend, the inflation rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) decelerated to 1.7% from 2.3% month-month on the back slowdown in increments in utilities, transport, and food costs.

In areas of Metro Manila, inflation rate slowed down to 2% from 3.6% in August also due to slower growth in food and transport prices.

Bottom 30%

Meanwhile, the inflation felt by the bottom 30% income households in the country, likewise, eased to 2.5% from 4.7% month-on-month due to lower growths in the costs of food, transport, and utilities. 

To address possible upside risks to inflation, Balisacan said the government has prepared strategies against La Niña —which began in September and is expected to persist until the first quarter of 2025– such as improvements in early warning systems, utilization of communication systems to issue warnings upon dam openings, addressing the possible spread of diseases to livestock or people, and greater involvement of local government units in information dissemination.

“We want Filipinos, particularly vulnerable families, to be shielded from various shocks and continue to have access to affordable goods in the coming months as we protect the gains we have made and sustain our economic progress,” said the NEDA chief.

— RSJ/ VAL, GMA Integrated News