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Renalyn Ramirez - Philstar.com
October 6, 2026 | 11:37am
Last-minute shoppers flock to Divisoria in Manila on December 31, 2024, just hours before the New Year, to buy essentials for the celebration.
The Philippine STAR / Ryan Baldemor
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s overall inflation rate accelerated to 7.2% in September 2026, marking its highest level in the last four months.
The Philippine Statistics Agency reported on Tuesday, October 6 , that the country’s headline inflation rate had risen sharply compared to August’s 6.1% record.
The inflation rate, which was also recorded in April this year, fell within the range of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) estimate of 6.4% to 7.4%.
“Equal siya with April 2026, and the last highest is 7.6% in March of 2023,” national statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said.
(It is equal to April 2026, and the last highest is 7.6% in March of 2023.)
According to the state’s data agency, the increase in inflation was mainly driven by higher costs of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which increased to 6.7% from the previous record of 4.6% in August.
Pressures in prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which climbed from 7.9% to 8.4%, and rising transport costs, which rose from 13.5% to 14.6%, have also contributed to the overall inflation.
“Eleven out of 13 commodity groups ay nagpakita ng pagtaas ng presyo nitong buwan ng Setyembre kumpara noong buwan ng Agosto,” Mapa said.
(Eleven out of 13 commodity groups have shown an upward price trend this September compared to August.)
Meanwhile, the rate of increasing prices was also faster among residents belonging to the bottom 30%, which was recorded at 9% in September, compared to 8.2% in August.
