The pace of price increases in the Philippines continued to moderate in November, providing relief to consumers and aligning with the central bank's expectations.
Headline and Core Inflation Show Moderation
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the year-on-year headline inflation rate decelerated to 1.5 percent in November 2025. This marks a slight easing from the 1.7 percent rate recorded in October. The latest figure comfortably sits within the BSP's projected range of 1.1 to 1.9 percent for the month.
For the first eleven months of the year, the average inflation settled at 1.6 percent. This remains significantly below the national government's target band of 2.0 to 4.0 percent (3.0 percent ± 1.0 percentage point). In a related development, core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy items, also softened to 2.4 percent from 2.5 percent in the prior month.
Food Prices Ease as Supply Improves
A key driver behind the slower overall inflation was the continued cooling of food prices. The BSP noted that price increases for vegetables and meat slowed down further. This improvement is attributed to better supply conditions.
The lifting of the chicken import ban helped improve meat supply, while vegetable supply chains have stabilized. Additionally, the price of rice, a staple for Filipino households, declined in November, although the pace of decrease was slower compared to previous months.
Non-Food Inflation Presents Counter-Pressure
While food prices provided downward pressure, non-food inflation accelerated during the month. This uptick was primarily due to higher electricity rates and rising domestic prices of select petroleum products. These factors offset some of the disinflationary impact from the food basket.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, inflation was flat (0.0 percent) in November, following a 0.1 percent increase in October.
BSP Maintains Vigilant Stance on Outlook
The central bank characterized the November inflation data as indicative of a "benign inflation environment." This assessment suggests that price pressures are currently manageable and within expected parameters.
However, the BSP emphasized that it will continue to monitor both domestic and global developments that could influence the future path of inflation and economic growth. This vigilance is consistent with its data-dependent approach to setting monetary policy, meaning future decisions on interest rates will be guided by incoming economic information.
The overall trend suggests a stable price environment for the remainder of the year, giving policymakers room to focus on supporting economic growth while watching for any potential resurgence in price pressures, particularly from energy and utility costs.
