PHL inflation slows down to 3.9% in Jan., NSO reports

Inflation slowed down to 3.9 percent last January, from 4.2 percent in December and 4.1 percent in January 2011, the National Statistics Office reported Tuesday.   “The continued deceleration in the annual increment of the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index further pushed down the country's year-on-year headline inflation…” the Statistics Office said, noting that the baseline-year was 2006.   "The slowing down of the annual growth rates of alcoholic beverages and tobacco… furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house… health… and transport indexes and the negative annual rate in communication index also contributed to the downtrend," the NSO said.

SOURCE: National Statistics Office

  Prices up outside NCR  However, inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) rose 3.5 percent from 3 percent on higher prices of clothing, footwear, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, recreation and culture, restaurants and miscellaneous goods and services, NSO data showed.   Outside the capital, inflation was 4 percent from 4.5 percent on slower yearly increases in all commodity groups, except in the communication and education groups, according to the report signed by NSO administrator Carmelita N. Ericta. — CMA/VS, GMA News