Philippines: Inflation Rate

Headline Consumer Inflation in the Philippines slowed down in February 2020 for the first time in four months. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew by 2.60% y/y compared to 2.94% in January 2020.

The highest jump in prices was recorded in the Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco sub-index (18.2% y/y), while the lowest was registered by the prices for Communications (0.39%).

A slow-down, albeit less pronounced, was observed in the core inflation rate, which excludes volatile components such as food and energy prices. The core inflation in the Philippines slowed down in February by 10 bp to 3.2% y/y. It has remained in a relatively close range throughout 2019 between 3.5% and 2.6% y/y.