A number driven by lower food inflation and in spite of poor weather conditions in several parts of the country throughout the month.
On Friday, September 4, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that the year-on-year headline inflation in the country further eased in August, when it logged 6.1 percent.
It is 0.1 percentage points lower than the 6.2 percent in July and is attributed to the lower inflation in food.
“The downtrend in the overall inflation in August 2026 was primarily brought about by the slower annual increase in the index of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 4.6 percent during the month from 5.2 percent in July 2026,” noted the PSA.
Overall food inflation was said to have slowed down amid a more stable domestic supply, which drove the decline in vegetable prices and the slowdown in inflation for fish.
However, during the same period, rice inflation accelerated, partly attributed to higher logistics costs.
Apart from that, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels also contributed to the downtrend with 7.9 percent year-on-year growth rate in August 2026, down from 0.3 percentage points from the 8.2 percent recorded in the previous month.
In addition, slower annual increases were observed in the indices of the commodity groups such as Information and communication; Recreation, sport and culture, 5.1 percent; and Education services.
It was also noted that the average headline inflation for the first eight months of 2026 settled at 5.2 percent—way higher than the full-year target of 3.0 percent and the tolerance range of ± 1 percentage point, as noted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in a separate statement.
Although, August’s inflation was within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s forecast range of 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent for the month.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, headline inflation increased to 0.5 percent in August from zero percent in the previous month.
As regarda to the core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy items, it likewise slowed from 4.2 percent in July to 4.1 percent in August.
Meanwhile, inflation for households with incomes in the lowest 30 percent of the population held steady at 8.2 percent in August.
Meanwhile, in similar to the trend at the national level, the inflation rate in NCR moved at a slower pace of 4.1 percent in August 2026—down from 4.4 percent in the previous month.
The lower inflation rate in NCR was mainly influenced by the slower annual increase in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index at 6.8 percent in August 2026 from 7.9 percent in the previous month.
FOOD
In a separate statement, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said that food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 1.8 percentage points to the overall rate.
On other specific inflation rates, it noted that the inflation for vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses saw a 3.4 percent decline from an 8.4 percent increase a month earlier.
Fish inflation also slowed to 6.6 percent from 7.8 percent but remained a significant source of food-price pressure.
However, rice inflation accelerated to 19.4 percent from 17.1 percent—an increase said to be reflective of a statistical base effect, since rice prices were unusually low a year earlier.
As dor fruits and nuts, and flour, bread, and other cereals, these also posted faster increases according to the DA.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the country has adequate food supplies for now, but warned that recent typhoons and enhanced southwest monsoon rains could push vegetable and fish prices higher in the coming weeks.
“We have sufficient rice stocks because of the harvest and the front-loading of imports as we prepare for the impact of El Niño,” he said. “The bigger near-term concern is food inflation in high-value crops and fishery products, as flooding has damaged farms and fish ponds and disrupted the flow of goods to markets.”
Tiu Laurel also acknowledged the challenge posed by higher fuel prices, as well as the weather and other economic realities on freight cost. “And Habagat and the weaker peso are definitely not helping the DA’s effort to stabilize food prices,” he said.
