Philippine inflation eases to 3.3% in August

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Headline inflation in August eased to its slowest rate in seven months due to a slower rise in food and transport costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday.

Preliminary data from the agency showed the consumer price index eased by 3.3 percent year on year in August, slowing from the 4.4 percent in July and 5.3 percent last year.

READ: July inflation accelerates to 4.4% – PSA

This falls within the lower-end of the 3.2-to 4-percent forecast of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for the month, and lower compared to the 3.7 percent average inflation forecast in an Inquirer poll of 11 economists conducted last week.

“The deceleration of food inflation in August 2024 was primarily brought about by the slower inflation rate of rice with 14.7 percent in August 2024 from 20.9 percent in the previous month,” the PSA said in a statement.

Inflation print in August marked the slowest growth in seven months or since the 2.8 percent logged in January. Stripping out seasonality factors, month-on-month inflation fell by 0.1 percent in August.

For the first eight months, inflation averaged 3.6 percent, still lower from the 6.6 percent in August 2023.