From the previous month’s 0.7 percent, the inflation for October rose to 1.6 percent as crop damages brought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng pushed food prices up and year-on-year-price water price increase. This is according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reports. The headline inflation rate in October 2009, however, was significantly lower than the 11.2 percent in October 2008.
The average inflation rate of 3.2 percent for the first 10 months of 2009 is still within the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) forecast of 2.5 to 4.5 percent. (NEDA/PIA)
