Philippine consumer price inflation eased unexpectedly in September, figures from the National Statistical Office showed Tuesday.
The consumer price index rose 0.4 percent year-over-year in September, slower than August’s 0.6 percent increase. Economists had expected the inflation to remain stable at 0.6 percent.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation eased to 1.4 percent in September from 1.6 percent in the previous month.
Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages went up 0.8 percent annually in September and that for clothing and footwear climbed by 2.1 percent. Meanwhile, both utility and transport costs fell by 2.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices dropped 0.2 percent September, in contrast to a 0.1 percent slight rise in August.
In an another report, the statistical office revealed that producer prices declined at a faster pace of 8.0 percent yearly in August, following a revised 6.8 percent decrease in the preceding month. Prices have been falling since October 2014.
The annual decline in August was largely caused by the decreases of ten major sectors, the agency said.
Prices of petroleum products plunged 25.4 percent in August. Electrical machinery prices slipped 19.6 percent and that for wood and wood products slumped by 18.9 percent.
Month-on-month, producer prices edged down 0.1 percent in August after a 0.8 percent fall seen in the prior month.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com