MANILA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' inflation climbed to 7.2 percent in September, up from 6.1 percent in August, driven by higher food, housing, and transport prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.
September inflation is significantly higher than the 1.7 percent recorded in the same month last year, according to the PSA.
In the first nine months of this year, the Philippines' average inflation reached 5.4 percent, surpassing the government target of 2.0 percent to 4.0 percent.
Food inflation rose to 6.7 percent in September from 4.6 percent in the previous month, contributing 2.6 percentage points.
Meanwhile, inflation in housing and utilities rose to 8.4 percent from 7.9 percent, with higher rent, electricity, and cooking gas prices, contributing 1.7 percentage points.
Transport prices also continued to increase in September, with inflation in the basket accelerating to 14.6 percent from 13.5 percent, contributing 1.3 percentage points. ■