The Philippines’ inflation rate held steady at 2.9 percent in January, the same level as December and slightly higher than the 2.8 percent recorded in January 2024, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The stability in headline inflation masks underlying shifts in specific sectors, notably food prices, which remain a major driver of inflationary pressures.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages stood at 3.8 percent inflation in January, up from 3.4 percent the previous month. This increase in food inflation, which contributed 50.3 percent to overall inflation, was driven by rising prices in vegetables, meat, and fish.
In particular, vegetables saw a sharp increase of 21.1 percent, compared to 14.2 percent in December 2024. Meat inflation also accelerated to 6.4 percent, up from 4.9 percent in the previous month. As a result, food inflation rose to 4.0 percent from 3.5 percent in December, contributing significantly to the overall inflationary trend.
However, the impact of food inflation was somewhat mitigated by a decline in rice prices, which stood at negative 2.3 percent year-on-year in January, reversing the 0.8 percent increase in December. Meanwhile, the prices of other essential commodities such as flour, bread, and fruits showed more moderate growth.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy items, slowed to 2.6 percent from 2.8 percent in December and 3.8 percent in January 2024, reflecting a decrease in price pressures from non-food sectors. This signals that while food costs continue to be a major concern, other areas of the economy are seeing more stability.
January inflation was well within the 2.0 percent-4.0 percent target range of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, giving the central bank scope to ease monetary policy further.
For the bottom 30 percent income households, inflation decelerated to 2.4 percent in January compared with 2.5 percent in December and 3.6 percent in January 2024.
Overall, while inflation remains manageable, food price inflation continues to be a critical issue for Filipino consumers. The continued rise in vegetable, meat, and fish prices will likely remain a key factor influencing inflation trends in the coming months.
