February inflation hits 6-month high

MANILA, Philippines - The nationwide prices of goods and services hit a six-month high on February, the National Statistics Office reported on Tuesday.

Soaring prices of alcohol and tobacco caused inflation to hit 3.4 percent in February, rising from the 3 percent recorded in January. Inlation a year ago was at 2.7 percent.

"It resulted from the faster annual gain in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index and the double-digit annual increment in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index. Higher annual increases in the indices furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, communication, and recreation and culture were also noted," the state agency said.

Inflation in the National Capital Region, meanwhile, decelerated at 2.3 percent in February from the 2.4 posted the previous month. For areas outside the NCR, inflation rose to 3.7 percent from the previous month's 3.3 percent.

NSO noted that the prices of consumer items generally grew by 0.3 percent in February, due to mark-ups posted in alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

"Higher prices of some food items such as rice, meat, fish, milk, cheese and eggs and upticks in the prices of gasoline, diesel and some items for personal care and effects were observed in many regions," it said.