MANILA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' headline inflation further slowed to 2.3 percent in September 2020 from 2.4 percent in August 2020, a four-month low driven by lower food and non-alcoholic beverage prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.
In September 2019, inflation was lower at 0.9 percent. The PSA said the year-to-date inflation for September 2020 remained at 2.5 percent.
"The downtrend in the overall inflation in September 2020 was mainly caused by the slowdown in the inflation for the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages which eased at an annual rate of 1.5 percent during the month, from 1.8 percent in the previous month," Dennis Mapa, PSA head, said in an online media briefing.
Likewise, Mapa said slower inflation was recorded for alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 12.9 percent, clothing and footwear at 1.8 percent, and furnishing, household equipment, and routine maintenance of the house at 3.7 percent.
Core inflation, which excludes selected volatile food and energy items to measure underlying price pressures, inched up to 3.2 percent in September 2020, from 3.1 percent in the previous month.
Core inflation in September 2019 registered at 2.7 percent, the PSA said. Enditem
