Inflation in the Philippines increased for the fourth consecutive month in May, driven by rising electricity and fuel costs, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The consumer price index reached 3.9 percent in May, up from 3.8 percent in April, but still within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) forecast range of 3.7 to 4.5 percent and the government’s target of 2 to 4 percent.
PSA reported that inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels accelerated to 0.9 percent in May, from 0.4 percent in April. National Statistician Dennis Mapa highlighted the increase in power costs, with the average cost for consuming 120 kWh of electricity rising to P1,444.60 in May from P1,384.35 in April. Similarly, the price of an 11 kg tank of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) increased to P1,404.60 from P1,113.18.
Transport inflation also rose to 3.5 percent from 2.6 percent the previous month.
Despite these increases, food inflation slowed to 6.1 percent in May from 6.3 percent in April. Rice inflation slightly eased from 23.9 percent to 23 percent over the same period. The average price of regular milled rice dropped to P51.03 from P51.25, while well-milled rice prices fell to P56.06 from P56.42, and special rice prices decreased to P64.41 from P64.68.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, slowed to 3.1 percent in May from 3.2 percent in April.
Mapa attributed the higher power costs to increased demand, noting, “That’s possible, because of course if you have higher demand compared to supply, that would trigger some adjustments in the prices upward.”
He also mentioned potential decreases in rice prices due to tariff reductions, as the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board agreed to reduce rice tariffs from 35 percent to 15 percent until 2028. This reduction could lower rice prices by P6-7 per kilo.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan emphasized NEDA’s commitment to managing inflation. “We will continue to find supply-side solutions to help manage the price increases of other commodities and keep inflation within the target range in the months to come,” he said in a statement.