Inflation tiptoed upward to 1.3 percent in November, as correctly projected by economists.
It was due to the effects of last year’s rates wearing out and an increase in prices of cigarettes, alcoholic drinks and pork, as a result of African swine fever scare.
The rate of increase in prices of basic commodities last month was the highest in three months, bringing the end-November average inflation to 2.5 percent, within the government’s 2-4 percent target range.
November inflation picked up from the 42-month low of 0.8 percent in October but still lower than the 6 percent posted a year ago.
In November, prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco jumped 17.6 percent, which National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa attributed to the impact of higher excise taxes slapped on these “sin” products under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act.