Inflation rate in August speeds up by 1.5% — PSA

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that the inflation rate in the country for the month of August accelerated by 1.5 percent.

In a press conference on Sept. 5, National Statistician and PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa said that the inflation rate increased by 67 percent from that of July which only recorded a 0.9-percent acceleration.

The main source of the acceleration was attributed to food and non-alcoholic beverages which accounted for a 69.3 percent share of the uptrend in inflation as it had a 0.9 percent acceleration from -0.2 percent in July.

Among the food items, vegetables and tubers were the highest contributors with 10 percent acceleration followed by fish which had 9.5 percent.

Mapa said that although the recorded 1.5 percent acceleration was ‘significantly’ lower from the 3.3 percent back in August 2024, specifically in the food sector, the pattern of inflation hike is the same for the past years because of recurring environmental conditions.

“Noong nakaraang taon, nakikita natin na kapag may bagyo at nagkakaroon ng baha sa ating mga lands na nagpo-produce ng products like vegetables, iyon ‘yung unang tinatamaan,” the statistician said.

“So, dito nag-attribute na ‘yung impact ng mga bagyo noong mga nakaraang buwan, particularly sa vegetables. Sa areas outside NCR medyo mas mababa ng kaunti pero double digit pa rin, nasa 6.9 percent,” Mapa added.

Second to the list of the main sources of acceleration was the transport sector which had a slow improvement for the past month and recorded a -0.3 percent inflation acceleration from the -10 percent for the previous month.

A notable factor that led to the inflation increase in the transport sector was passenger transport by sea which had a 64.4 percent acceleration from 5.2 percent in July.

Mapa said that seafare increased substantially compared to the last year, hence the boom in inflation.

“Una, ‘yung ating presyo sa pamasahe para sa barko medyo nagkaroon ng increase compared sa last year kaya substantial siguro. ‘Yung travel, mas marami [rin ang] bumibiyahe ngayon at nagkakaroon tayo ng adjustment sa pamasahe.

Mapa also revealed that the recorded inflation rate for the month of August might be the start of a faster inflation until the end of 2025.

“Nakikita kasi natin na may mga items tayo doon sa food basket particularly the food items, ito ‘yung meat, fish, and vegetables. ‘Pag cinombine kasi sila, makikita natin na medyo substantial na ‘yung kanilang weight, so nakikita natin na mayroon tayong pagtaas sa presyo,” he said.

Mapa said that the food basket is one of the “risks” in the country’s economy that could contribute to inflation for the remaining months of the year.