Philippine headline inflation held steady at 1.7 percent in October 2025, unchanged from September and slower than the 2.3 percent in October last year, as food and transport costs continued to ease, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
The PSA said inflation remained subdued despite faster price increases in clothing, housing and utilities, communications, and personal care items. Inflation has averaged 1.7 percent from January to October—well below the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2–4 percent target range—giving the central bank room to ease monetary policy should economic conditions weaken.
Food inflation at the national level eased further to 0.3 percent in October from 0.8 percent in September, mainly due to slower price hikes in vegetables, tubers, plantains, and pulses (16.6 percent from 19.4 percent). Meat inflation also moderated to 5.2 percent from 6.0 percent, while milk, dairy, and eggs slowed to 1.6 percent from 2.5 percent.
Prices of rice and corn posted faster annual declines of 17.0 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively, while fruits and nuts saw a 1.4 percent decrease after rising 0.5 percent the previous month. In contrast, fish and seafood inflation rose to 8.2 percent from 7.9 percent, and oils and fats ticked up slightly to 9.4 percent.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy items, slipped to 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent in September. Meanwhile, inflation for the bottom 30 percent income households contracted by 0.4 percent, deepening from a 0.2 percent decline a month earlier, reflecting lower food costs for low-income consumers.
