Photo credit: DA

Looks like inflation in the Philippines held steady at 2.9% in January 2025, the same rate as December 2024. While that might sound like stability, some price hikes in everyday essentials still made a noticeable impact—especially on food, drinks, and transportation.

Food Prices Continue to Rise

If you've noticed your grocery bill creeping up, you're not alone. Food inflation jumped to 4.0% in January from 3.5% in December, with some items seeing major spikes:
• Vegetables, tubers, and bananas soared to 21.1% from 14.2%—ouch!
• Fish and seafood prices also jumped to 3.3% from just 1.0% last month.
• Meat prices increased to 6.4% from 4.9%—bad news for carnivores.

Meanwhile, rice prices actually dropped by 2.3%, which is some relief for Filipinos who rely on it daily.

What’s Getting More Expensive?

Aside from food, these categories saw higher price increases:
• Alcohol & tobacco: Up to 3.5% from 3.1%
• Transport: Increased to 1.1% from 0.9%

However, some things got cheaper, like:
• Housing, water, electricity, and gas: Inflation dropped to 2.2% from 2.9%
• Restaurant and accommodation services: Down to 3.2% from 3.8%

NCR vs. Other Regions
• Metro Manila’s inflation actually slowed down to 2.8% (from 3.1%), thanks to lower housing and restaurant costs.
• Outside NCR, inflation remained at 2.9%, but food and alcohol prices went up.

What’s Next?

With food prices still climbing, expect some budget adjustments in the coming months. The government will be keeping an eye on key sectors, especially as global trends and local supply issues continue to shape inflation.