Philippine inflation eased to 8-month low of 2.8 pct

Philippine annual inflation growth eased to an eight month low of 2.8 percent in November on back of lower food and utility prices, the National Statistics Office said Wednesday. Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy, also slowed to 3.4 percent in November, the lower annual growth recorded since March. The NSO said that the annual increment in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index in the Philippines slowed to 2.2 percent in November. This is on back of stable supply of basic foodstuff including rice, cooking oil, sugar and vegetable. The housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels index decelerated 3.8 percent, while transport index slowed 1.3 percent. In the National Capital Region alone, inflation slowed to 2.6 percent.