The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said inflation rate accelerated in June, snapping a four-month down streak, on the back of a faster increase in utility costs during the period.

In a press briefing, the National Statistician and PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa reported that last June’s inflation print —which measures the rate of growth in consumer goods and services costs— moved up slightly to 1.4% from 1.3% in May.

The report was consistent with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ projection that last month’s inflation rate would clock in within the 1.1% to 1.9% range.

June’s inflation rate brought the year-to-date rate to 1.8%, still below the government’s comfortable inflation rate ceiling of 2% to 4% for 2025.

Mapa said the main reason for the higher inflation rate in June 2025 versus May 2025 was the faster increase in the prices of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels to 3.2%. These had a share of 63.3% to the overall inflation rate.

This was amid the spike seen in electricity cost at 7.4% from 2.8% in the prior month.

Also contributing to the uptrend was the slower contraction in the Transport index at -1.6% from -2.4% month-on-month, with a share of 23.8% to the overall inflation hike.

Education Services, amid the opening of the school year, saw an increase of 5.4% from 4.2%, contributing 7.7% to June’s inflation rate acceleration.

Despite the overall inflation uptick, food inflation —which tracks the price movements of food items in a “basket” commonly purchased by households— eased to 0.1% from 0.7% in May and from 6.5% in June 2024.

This was on the back of a steeper deflation in rice at -14.3% from -12.8% in May.

Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses saw a rate of 2.8%, down from 3.4% in the prior month.

Ready-made food and other food products also contributed to the downtrend in food inflation as its inflation print slowed to 2.2% from 3% month-on-month.

Corn likewise contracted further to -14.5% from -10.6% while sugar, confectionery and desserts also deflated to -0.7% from -0.6% in May.

However, higher inflation prints were seen in the indices of the following food groups during the month:

• Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals –  1.3% from 1.2%
• Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals –  9.1% from 7.9%
• Fish and other seafood –  6.2% from 5.7%
• Milk, other dairy products and eggs –  5.1% from 4.9%
• Oils and fats –  7.1% from 5.8%
• Fruits and nuts –  9.7% from 8.3%

“The sharp decline in food inflation over the past year underscores the continued progress in our coordinated efforts to boost local production, improve logistics, and implement calibrated trade and biosecurity measures. We will sustain these interventions and complement them with targeted initiatives to ensure a continuous, stable supply and shield consumers from future price pressures,” said Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

To further strengthen food supply chains, the Department of Agriculture will intensify the implementation of industry recovery and expansion programs, such as the Swine Industry Recovery Project (SIRP) and Livestock Economic Enterprise Development, according to the DEPDev.