Inflation holds steady at 1.7% in Oct.

October inflation rate steadies at 1.7%

- By Katherine K. Chan

PHILIPPINE HEADLINE inflation steadied in October as slower price increases in vegetables and meat offset higher utility costs during the month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday.

PSA data showed that the consumer price index (CPI) stood at 1.7% in October, unchanged from September's print but eased from 2.3% a year ago.

This was a tad slower than the 1.8% median forecast from a Business World poll of 17 analysts conducted last week, but within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) 1.4-2.2% forecast.

October also marked the eighth straight month that inflation fell below the central bank's 2-4% target band.

In the 10 months to October, average inflation matched the BSP’s full-year target of 1.7%.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which discounts volatile prices of food and fuel, eased to 2.5% from 2.6% in September. Still, it was slightly faster than the 2.4% print in October 2024.

This brought year-to-date core inflation to 2.4%, easing from the 3.1% clip seen in the comparable year-ago period.

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed most to the CPI during the month and posted a 2.7% inflation rate, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said.

Electricity alone posted a 4.1% inflation in October, accelerating from the 1.2% clip seen in September.

In October, the Manila Electric Co. hiked the overall electricity rate by P0.2331 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P13.3182 per kWh. This means residential customers consuming 200 kWh had to pay an additional P47 in their bill last month.

Meanwhile, inflation for water supply also quickened to 5.7% in October from 5.3% a month earlier.

In September, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System okayed the proposed P0.14 per cubic meter (cu.m.) hike for Maynilad and a P0.15 per cu.m. rollback for Manila Water for the October-December period.