Inflation hits new over 9-year high of 6.7% in September on elevated food prices

As food prices remain elevated, inflation rose 6.7 percent year-on-year in September, a new over nine-year high, the government reported Friday.

The rate of increase in prices of basic commodities last month was the fastest since the headline inflation rate of 7.2 percent in posted in February 2009.

As such, the inflation rate averaged 5 percent as of end-September, above the government’s full-year target range of 2-4 percent.

But National Statistician Lisa Grace Bersales told a press conference that month-on-month inflation, or the increase in consumer prices in September as compared to August, was a slightly slower 0.8 percent from 0.9 percent a month ago.

In its report, the Philippine Statistics Authority said the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index jumped 9.7 percent last September. /muf