Philippines: Inflation accelerates in February from the prior month
Latest reading: Consumer prices were up 2.4% in annual terms in February, following a 2.0% rise in the previous month. February’s reading was the strongest since January 2025. As such, inflation stood within the Central Bank’s 2.0–4.0% target range.
Relative to the prior month’s figures, there were higher price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages (+1.8% on a year-on-year basis vs +1.1% in January), clothing and footwear (+2.4% vs +2.3% in January) and housing and utilities (+3.5% vs +3.3% in January). In contrast, price pressures reduced for transport in February (-0.3% vs -0.2% in January).
Finally, consumer prices were up 0.15% in February in seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms, following a 0.77% increase in the previous month.
Panelist insight: ING’s Deepali Bhargava commented on risks to the inflation outlook:
“The Philippines relies on the Middle East for almost 90% of its oil supply, making it one of the most vulnerable economies in the region to the ongoing supply disruption. Higher oil prices raise inflation both directly (fuel and transport) and indirectly (food and logistics). Around a 20% increase in oil prices from February levels could add up to 0.8ppt to headline inflation if the increase is sustained and fully passed through to retail prices.”