Philippine inflation towers to 8.7% in January

Shoppers at a supermarket in Manila, the Philippines (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) -  The Philippines' headline inflation rose to 8.7% in January 2023, higher than 8.1% in December 2022 and the highest since November 2008, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, climbed to 7.4%.

Head of PSA Dennis Mapa said the main driver in the uptrend of inflation from 8.1% in December 2022 was the higher year-on-year increase of the index of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 8.5%. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages also contributed to the inflation rate at 10.7%, and restaurants and accommodation services at 7.6%.

The Philippine government expects inflation to moderate from 2023 to 2024, with a slower-than-expected global recovery and waning pent-up domestic demand./.