THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that the Philippines’ inflation rate has decelerated further to their slowest in the last 20 months in November.

This is amid the slowdown in the increase in food and transport costs.

Earlier, National Statistician and PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa narrated that the  inflation — which measures the rate of increase in the prices of consumer goods and services — was recorded at 4.1% last month.

This is slower than the 4.9% rate that was recorded in October and the 8% rate in November 2022.

The figure likewise marks the second straight month to which the deceleration in the headline inflation after two successive months of acceleration.

Last month’s rate is the slowest on record since March 2022, when inflation stood at 4%.

This is within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) forecast range of 4% to 4.8%, which is consistent with the central bank’s expectations “that inflation will likely moderate over the near term due to easing supply-side price pressures and negative base effects.”

The November inflation print has now brought the year-to-date figure to stand at 6.2%, still above the government’s ceiling of 2% to 4%.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan had declared that the “further drop in the inflation rate can be attributed to the timely implementation of strategies to stabilize food supply amid the anticipated domestic and external headwinds in the coming months.”

“Ang pangunahing dahilan ng mas mababang antas ng inflation nitong Nobyembre 2023 kaysa noong Oktubre 2023 ay ang mas mabagal na pagtaas ng presyo ng Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages,” Mapa said.