2018.03.0523:41:00UTC+00Philippine Inflation Highest Since Sep 2014

Philippine consumer price inflation accelerated further in February to the highest level in three-and-a-half years, figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed Tuesday.

The consumer price index climbed 3.9 percent year-over-year in February, faster than the 3.4 percent rise in January.

Moreover, this was the highest inflation since September 2014, when prices had grown the same 3.9 percent.

The statistical office has re-based CPI series to 2012 from the current base year of 2006.

The uptrend resulted from the faster annual gain recorded in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 4.8 percent and the double-digit annual increment in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index at 16.9 percent.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.8 percent from January, when it increased by 0.9 percent.