By Tracy Cabrera
FLUCTUATING domestic fuel prices and an increase in transport fares has pushed inflation in October to a near three-year high, based on data monitoring by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
According to the PSA, last month’s consumer price growth accelerated to 7.8 percent, up from 7.2 percent and 1.7 percent a month and year earlier, respectively.
This is the highest rate recorded since February 2023’s 8.6 percent and exceeded the 7.7-percent median in recent polls.
Despite this, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) opined that the headline figure is within its forecast range of between 7.1 percent and 8.1 percent, stressing that it is also consistent with its projection that “inflation is likely to remain elevated in the coming months.”
“(We) will remain vigilant and guided by incoming data. It will continue to assess the impact of the latest developments in the Middle East and ongoing El Niño conditions on the outlook for inflation and growth,” the BSP disclosed in a statement.
It noted that the October figure brought average inflation for the first ten months of 2026 to 5.6 percent, remaining above the BSP’s 2.0- to 4.0-percent target range.
Accordingly, it added that core inflation—which excludes selected food and energy items—also rose to 5.4 percent from 4.8 percent in September and 2.5 percent in the previous year.
National statistician Dennis Mapa cited that inflation surged amid higher transport and fuel costs.
“The faster increases in the prices of (these) items contributed to the higher inflation rate for the transport sector,” Mapa explained.
A faster annual increase was likewise observed in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index at 9.3 percent in October 2026 from 8.4 percent a month earlier.
Food inflation, however, slowed to 6.4 percent last month from 6.8 percent in September the current year.
Rice inflation, meanwhile, continued to increase to 20.7 percent from 20.3 percent in the previous month.
Socioeconomic planning secretary Arsenio Balisacan sannounced that in order to address these pressures, the government is strengthening agricultural production and logistics while providing targeted assistance to sectors affected by higher energy costs.
“We will continue strengthening targeted interventions that support producers, improve supply, and provide relief to vulnerable sectors,” Balisacan avowed.
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