Headline inflation based on consumer prices for March slowed to 1.8 percent from 2.1 percent the preceding month and 3.7 percent a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.
“This brings the national average inflation rate from January to March 2025 to 2.2 percent,” the PSA said in a statement.
The downtrend in the overall inflation “was primarily brought about by the slower annual increment in the index of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 2.2 percent in March 2025 from 2.6 percent in the previous month,” it said, adding that what “also contributed to the downtrend was the faster year-on-year decrease in the transport index at 1.1 percent during the month from a 0.2 percent annual drop in February 2025. In addition, a slower inflation rate was recorded for restaurants and accommodation services at 2.3 percent in March 2025 from 2.8 percent in the previous month.”
Earlier this week, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it was expecting the inflation rate in March to settle within the range of 1.7 percent to 2.5 percent. The assumption was based on upward pressures emanating from higher electricity rates and prices of fish and meat, partially offset by lower prices of other basic food products and favorable domestic supply conditions, as well as the peso appreciation.
Economists, on the other hand, had estimated the mean average for March to have slowed further to 2.04 percent.
