Philippine inflation climbs to 4.2% in January

Philippine inflation inched up to 4. 2 percent in January from 4.1 percent in December 2013 on the back of higher prices of basic commodities, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said Wednesday. NSO said inflation accelerated in January due to higher prices of food, clothing and household equipment. Excluding selected food and energy items, core annual inflation remained at 3.2 percent during the period. The agency said the highest annual inflation rate at 7.8 percent was recorded in the Eastern Visayas region in central Philippines which was hardest hit by typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda). The NSO also noted that national annual inflation for food alone climbed to 5.7 percent in January from 5 percent the previous month. The January inflation rate is within 3.4 to 4.3 percent range projected by the Philippine central bank. The local central bank earlier said higher food prices would cause consumer prices to increase at a faster pace during the period. The Philippine government has targeted to maintain inflation rate at 3 to 5 percent this year. Last year, the increase in consumer prices averaged 3 percent.