The Philippines’ inflation rate further slowed to 0.9 percent in September 2019, the lowest since 1.3 percent in June 2016, due to faster deceleration of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index.

This is a drop from 1.7 percent last August and lower than year-ago’s 6.7 percent, the peak last year, which brought the average inflation in the first nine months this year to 2.8 percent.

In a briefing Friday, Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) Undersecretary Claire Dennis S. Mapa said rice inflation posted a – 8.9 percent inflation; corn, – 4.1 percent; vegetables, – 4.7 percent; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery, -4.1 percent.

He said the latest rice inflation is lowest since 1991, with monthly price monitoring data showing an 18 percent drop year-on-year on retail price, which authorities traced to the rice tariffication law.

He forecasts inflation, to sustain its drop towards the end of the year.

“Our expectation is that it will go downward unless there are shocks,” he added. (PNA)