MANILA, Philippines — Inflation rose to 1.5% in August 2025 from a record low of 0.9% in July 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Friday, September 9.
The PSA said that the uptrend was due to the annual increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which rose to 0.9% in August 2025 from 0.2% in July 2025.
Transport was recorded at -2.0% in August 2025, the same as in July 2025, the PSA said.
Core inflation, which does not include volatile commodities such as food and energy, increased to 2.7% in August 2025 from 2.3% in July 2025. The recent figure is a 0.1% increase from August 2024’s 2.6%.
As it stands, the Philippines’ year-on-year inflation rate for 2025 is currently at 1.7%, which is within the government’s target of 2.0% to 4.0%.
Metro Manila, other areas
In terms of regions, the National Capital Region’s (NCR) inflation rate rose faster in August 2025, moving from 1.7% in July 2025 to 2.9%.
The PSA attributed this to faster increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which were reported at 3.9%.
The inflation rate of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels also rose faster to 5.1% in August 2025 from 3.7% in July 2025.
For areas outside of the NCR, inflation also picked up pace.
Regions outside of the NCR recorded an inflation rate of 1.1% in August 2025 from 0.7% in July 2025. The higher inflation rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages was also to blame for the overall increase.
Food inflation
Food (excluding non-alcoholic beverages) inflation also slightly increased in August 2025, rising from 0.5% in July 2025 to 0.6% the next month.
The increase was due to the annual rise in vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses, which more than doubled their inflation rate, going from 4.7% in July 2025 to 10% in August 2025.
Corn and sugar also posted higher inflation rates in August 2025.
The PSA said that the following three commodity groups contributed the most to overall inflation:
- Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (28.0% share of inflation)
- Food and non-alcoholic beverages (23.7% share of inflation)
- Restaurants and accommodation services (15.1% share of inflation)
Government projections
The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said that inflation remains manageable, but they will closely monitor the situation, especially in light of the forecasted cyclones in the coming months.
“While inflation remains broadly manageable, the recent figures highlight how adverse weather conditions directly impact prices,” DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
“We remain committed to implementing strategic policies that ease supply constraints and improve market efficiency,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that inflation remained within its projections.
“For 2026 and 2027, inflation is expected to trend higher but will remain firmly within the 3.0% + 1.0 ppt target range,” the BSP said.
