MANILA — The Philippines’ headline inflation rate rose to 1.8 percent in December 2025 from 1.5 percent in November, although it remained lower than the 2.9 percent recorded in December 2024.

The increase was mainly driven by faster year-on-year growth in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index, which rose 1.4 percent in December from 0.1 percent in November. The clothing and footwear index also contributed, increasing 2.2 percent from 1.8 percent.

Meanwhile, lower inflation rates were seen in alcohol and tobacco, housing, household equipment, transport, recreation, restaurants, and personal care compared with November 2025. Other commodity groups retained their previous month’s rates.

The top three contributors to December 2025 inflation were food and non-alcoholic beverages with 0.6 percentage point, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with 0.5 percentage point, and restaurants and accommodation services with 0.2 percentage point.

Annual average inflation in 2025 stood at 1.7 percent, down from 3.2 percent in 2024, reflecting slower price growth in food, restaurants, housing, alcohol and tobacco, clothing, household equipment, health, recreation, education, personal care, and transport. The largest contributors to the annual average inflation were housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (0.5 percentage point), food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.5 percentage point), and restaurants and accommodation services (0.2 percentage point).

Food inflation in December 2025 rose to 1.2 percent from a 0.3 percent decline in November, driven by a slower drop in rice prices, faster increases in vegetables, tubers, plantains, and pulses, and higher prices for corn, fish, fruits, and ready-made foods. Meat, dairy, oils, and sugar posted slower price growth or declines. Food accounted for 0.4 percentage point of the overall inflation. Annual average food inflation in 2025 was 1.0 percent, lower than 4.5 percent in 2024.

Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, remained at 2.4 percent in December 2025, down from 2.8 percent in December 2024. The 2025 average core inflation rate also fell to 2.4 percent from 3.0 percent in 2024.

In the National Capital Region, inflation slowed to 2.3 percent in December 2025 from 2.8 percent in November, reflecting slower price increases in housing, utilities, food, alcohol, transport, and restaurants. The annual average inflation in NCR in 2025 was 2.4 percent, lower than 2.6 percent in 2024.

Areas outside NCR saw overall inflation accelerate to 1.7 percent in December 2025 from 1.2 percent in November, driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages and clothing. Region VII (Central Visayas) recorded the highest inflation outside NCR at 3.8 percent, while BARMM posted negative inflation for the ninth consecutive month at -1.0 percent. The annual average inflation in areas outside NCR was 1.5 percent in 2025, down from 3.4 percent in 2024. Fourteen regions outside NCR recorded slower annual average inflation compared with 2024, while Region I posted a slightly faster rate of 2.2 percent. BARMM and Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) recorded negative annual average inflation rates of -0.9 percent and -0.4 percent, respectively.