PH Inflation jumps to 7.2% as food, transport costs climb

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Philippine inflation accelerated to 7.2 percent in September 2026 as Filipinos faced faster increases in food, transport and utility costs, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The September figure was higher than the 6.1 percent inflation recorded in August and significantly above the 1.7 percent posted in September 2025.

The latest increase brought the country’s average inflation rate from January to September 2026 to 5.4 percent.

The PSA said the acceleration was primarily driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages, which posted an inflation rate of 6.7 percent in September, up from 4.6 percent in August.

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels also accelerated to 8.4 percent from 7.9 percent, while transport inflation climbed to 14.6 percent from 13.5 percent a month earlier.

Food inflation alone accelerated to 6.8 percent in September from 4.6 percent in August. In September 2025, food inflation stood at just 0.8 percent.

Among food items, rice inflation increased further to 20.3 percent from 19.4 percent in August.

Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses recorded a sharp turnaround, posting 10.7 percent inflation after a 3.4 percent annual decline in August.

Fish and other seafood inflation increased to 7.4 percent from 6.6 percent, while fruits and nuts accelerated to 8.7 percent from 5.8 percent.

Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products and other cereals registered 4.5 percent inflation, up from 4.3 percent.

Food accounted for 34.4 percent of overall inflation in September, equivalent to a contribution of 2.5 percentage points.

Cereals and cereal products, which include rice, accounted for 64.5 percent of food inflation or 4.4 percentage points. Fish and other seafood contributed 18.7 percent or 1.3 percentage points, while vegetables and related products accounted for 15.4 percent or 1.0 percentage point.

Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, also accelerated to 4.7 percent in September from 4.1 percent in August. Core inflation was 2.6 percent in September last year.

NCR inflation hits 5.4%

Inflation in the National Capital Region accelerated to 5.4 percent in September from 4.1 percent in August. It stood at 2.7 percent in September 2025.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages in NCR accelerated to 4.9 percent from 1.9 percent, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose to 7.7 percent from 6.8 percent.

Transport inflation in Metro Manila also climbed to 11.5 percent from 10.0 percent.

Information and communication bucked the trend in NCR, with inflation slowing to 0.2 percent in September from 0.6 percent in August.

Meanwhile, inflation in areas outside NCR reached 7.6 percent in September, up from 6.6 percent in August and significantly higher than the 1.5 percent recorded in September 2025.

The Consumer Price Index measures changes in the average prices of goods and services commonly purchased by Filipino households and serves as the basis for determining the country’s inflation rate.