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Economy

Philippine Inflation Eases to 6.1% in August, Fourth Straight Monthly Decline — But Rice Prices Keep Climbing

Headline inflation slowed to 6.1% in August, its fourth consecutive monthly decline, as vegetable prices cooled — but rice inflation accelerated to 19.4%, keeping food costs a persistent problem.

Juan Dela CruzBy Juan Dela CruzSep 22, 20261 min read
Illustration: sacks of rice at a Philippine wet market
Illustration: sacks of rice at a Philippine wet market — PostNetNews (AI-generated editorial illustration)

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported headline inflation slowed to 6.1% in August, down from 6.2% in July — the fourth straight monthly decline, though still well above the government's 2-4% target range. Year-to-date average inflation for January through August stands at 5.2%.

The slowdown was driven mainly by cooling food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation, which eased to 4.6% from 5.2%, on a sharp pullback in vegetable prices. Rice moved the opposite direction: rice inflation accelerated to 19.4% in August from 17.1% in July, keeping overall food costs elevated for many households.

The August figure continues a gradual cooling from an earlier 2026 spike — inflation hit 7.2% in April, its highest since March 2023, driven largely by an oil-price shock that pushed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' policy rate to 4.5% and prompted a presidential energy-emergency declaration in March.

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