Prices of goods went up at a much faster pace in August, breaching the government’s target range.

The Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday, September 7, reported that inflation surged to 4.9% in August, from 4% in July.

The latest figure is above the 2% to 4% target band.

Average inflation for January to August stood at 4.4%, also beyond the target.

National Statistician Dennis Mapa said food prices, particularly fish (12.4%) and vegetables (15.7%), pushed inflation higher.

Liquefied petroleum gas (17.6%), electricity (6.6%), and rent (1.1%) also posted increases.

Regions

Inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) went up to 3.7% in August from 3.2% in July, as prices of vegetables, meat, and fish increased.

Inflation in areas outside NCR rose to 5.2% in August from 4.3% in July, also due to faster price increases in vegetables and fish.

Cagayan Valley posted the highest inflation rate at 7.5%, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao recorded the lowest at 2.5%.

Poor households

Inflation rate for the bottom 30% income households stood at 5.2% in August, higher than the 4.4% in July.

From January to August, average inflation for low income households stood at 4.9%.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) had predicted inflation would rest above comfortable levels in August, as electricity rates and prices of key food items rose along with the depreciation of the peso.

The BSP earlier raised its inflation forecast to 4.1% for the entire 2021, citing higher global crude prices and a weaker peso. – Rappler.com