The country’s inflation further accelerated to 8.1 percent in December, setting a new 14-year high record based on the data of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
High inflation can decrease the purchasing power of consumers, making it more difficult for them to afford the goods and services they need.
The PSA, in a report released last January 5, said December’s inflation is slightly swifter than the 8 percent rate in November 2022.
READ: PH posts record-high 8% inflation rate in November
Last month’s figure was the fastest inflation rate since November 2008’s 9.1%, and was within the forecast range of 7.8 percent to 8.6 percent by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
This also brought the full-year average to 5.8 percent in 2022 from 3.9 percent in 2021.
Dennis Mapa, the chief of the state statistics bureau, said the higher inflation rate in December was mainly driven by the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which were seen rising at a faster pace.
“Ang nag-ambag ng malaki sa pagtaas ng inflation ng Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages ay ang mas mabilis na pagtaas ng presyo ng mga vegetables, tubers, cooking bananas at iba pa… partikular ang repolyo, bigas, at fruits and nuts, tulad ng saging,” Mapa said in a press briefing.
PSA also attributed the acceleration to the increasing cost of the following commodities and services:
- Food and non-alcoholic beverages – 10.2 percent
- Restaurants and accommodation services – 7 percent
- Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels – 7 percent
Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes food and energy items given their price volatility, soared to 6.9 percent in December from 6.5 percent the month prior.
