MANILA — Philippine headline inflation surged to 7.2 percent in September, driven by soaring food and transport costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Tuesday.
The September clip was a sharp increase from 6.1 percent in August, though within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ forecast range of 6.4 to 7.4 percent.
Average inflation for the first nine months of the year reached 5.4 percent, compared to 1.7 percent in September 2025.
"The uptrend in overall inflation was primarily influenced by the faster annual increment in heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages," the statistics authority said, noting food inflation climbed to 6.8 percent from 4.6 percent.
Surging prices for key staples hit consumers hard, led by a 20.3 percent jump in rice costs and a 10.7 percent surge in vegetables. Transport costs also accelerated to 14.6 percent, with gasoline alone surging 40.9 percent in price, and diesel skyrocketing 61.3 percent from last year’s prices. Housing and utility prices also rose 8.4 percent.
The poorest Filipinos, who make up the bottom 30 percent of households, felt the pain of high prices more acutely, with inflation hitting 9 percent for their basket of goods.
Price pressures were also harder outside the capital region, where inflation accelerated to 7.6 percent, peaking at 9.7 percent in the Bangsamoro autonomous region. In Metro Manila, inflation stood at 5.4 percent.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy items that are prone to wild swings, picked up to 4.7 percent from 4.1 percent in August.
PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said this was the highest core inflation rate since October 2023, when it hit 5.1 percent.
Mapa said the September inflation rate does not yet take into account the fare hikes that were approved in late September.
“And it will appear sa month ng October at medyo substantial yung increases,” Mapa said.
The coming “Super El Niño” is also expected to have an impact on food production, which can affect inflation.
The Department of Economy, Planning and Development meanwhile said the government has suspended LPG and kerosene excise taxes, capped electricity prices, waived produce tolls, and expanded palay storage to cushion the impact of high prices.
“September’s inflation rise was driven mainly by disruptions in food supply caused by adverse weather and higher global oil prices,” said DEPDev Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan.
“These are significant supply-side pressures, but they are being met with targeted interventions to mitigate the impact on households.”
The inflation data comes after the BSP raised key interest rates by 25 basis points at its last meeting, warning that ongoing Middle East conflict threatens to keep prices elevated.