Manila, Philippines – The rate of inflation in the country grew to 2.9% during the last month of 2024, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
Based on the Summary Inflation report of PSA for December 2024, the overall inflation rate of the country slightly grew to 2.9% from the 2.5% during the month of November.
PSA attributed this increase to the faster annual increment in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 2.9% this December compared to November’s 1.9%.
Annual increase in transportatin at 0.9%, as well as the 2.5% yearly increment on recreation, sports, and culture has also influenced the overall inflation on December.
Meanwhile, food inflation at the national level remained at 3.5%, yet surge in prices of vegetables, tomato in particular, resulted to 120.8% inflation rate on December.
Based on the daily pricde monitoring of Department of Agriculture, retai price of tomatoes are now around P180 to P310 per kilo, due to shortage in its supply.
PSA noted that increase in prices of vegetables can be attributed to the consecutive typhoons that hit the country between October and November, as well as the high demands for it during the holiday season.