Inflation eases further to 1.8% in March 2025

The Philippines inflation rate continued its deceleration streak for the second straight month, slowing down below 2% in March, due to easing of movements of food and transport costs, the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa reported that last month’s inflation print —which measures the rate of increase in the prices of consumer goods and services— clocked in at 1.8%.

This was slower than the 2.1% inflation rate posted in February this year.

March’s figure was also the slowest inflation rate in nearly five years, when it settled at 1.6% in May 2020.

Last month’s inflation print brought the year-to-date rate to 2.2%, well within the government’s ceiling of 2% to 4% for the entire 2025.

“Ang pangunahing dahilan ng mas mababang antas ng inflation nitong Marso 2025 kaysa noong Pebrero 2025 ay ang mas mabagal na pagtaas ng presyo ng Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages sa antas na 2.2% [from 2.6%],” Mapa said.

(The main contributor to the slower inflation rate in March versus February 2025 was the slower increase in the prices of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages at 2.2%.)

The PSA chief said the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index contributed 50.2% to the overall easing.

This was due to the easing in the prices of cereals and other cereal products at -5.2%, particularly rice which saw a contraction of -7.7% from a deflation of -4.9% in February.

Also contributing to the slowdown in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index was meat with an inflation rate of 8.2%, from 8.8% month-on-month.

The second contributor to the overall inflation decline in March was the index of Transport, posting a stronger contraction of -1.1% from -0.2% in the prior month, and a share of 27% to the headline rate.

This was on the back of the higher reductions seen in gasoline (-7.5% from -4.7%) and diesel (-5% from -3.4%).

The third contributor to the easing of March’s inflation print was the index of Restaurants and Accommodation Services at 2.3% from 2.8% and a share of 16% to the downtrend.

Moreover, slower annual increments were seen in the indices of the following commodity groups in March:

• Clothing and footwear - 1.8% from 2.1%
• Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance - 2.1% from 2.3%
• Health - 2.2% from 2.3%
• Recreation, sport and culture - 2.2% from 2.4%

Meanwhile, the top five contributors to the March 2025 inflation are the following commodities:

• Meat of pigs -  10.8% from 12.1%
• Restaurants, cafe and the like - 2.3% from 2.8%
• Meat of poultry - 10.9% from 10.8%
• Rentals - 1.7% from 1.6%
• Other pelagic fish - 6.3% from 2.4%

“The continued decline in inflation indicates the effectiveness of the government's proactive measures to stabilize prices and protect the purchasing power of Filipino households. While the inflation rate continues to ease and remain within the target range, we commit to monitoring risks and shocks, particularly on anticipated electricity rate hikes and higher prices of fish and meat, and addressing them through timely and targeted  interventions,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.

Balisacan added that the Marcos administration “will continue to implement strategies to safeguard the purchasing power of Filipinos as the country’s inflation rate continued to decline in March 2025.”

Food inflation

Food inflation, which tracks the price movements of food items in a "basket" commonly purchased by households, eased to 2.3% from 2.6% month-on-month.

The deceleration of food inflation was attributed to the faster contraction in rice prices, meat, and vegetables (6.9% from 7.1%).

A price decline of -1.6% in corn from a growth of 0.7% was also seen in March.

Meanwhile, a slower contraction of -0.6% from -1.2% was observed in sugar prices.

“Banking on the positive results of our short- and long-term initiatives to address inflationary pressures, the government will continue focusing on implementing policies to ensure that every Filipino benefits from a stable and resilient economy,” Balisacan said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News