MANILA – Inflation in the Philippines rose to 3.2 percent in November from 2.7 percent the previous month due to increases in the prices of food and fuel, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

Consumer prices in November were up 0.6 percent from the previous month, against a 0.2 percent rise in October, the NSO said.

For the January to November period, inflation averaged 2.7 percent, still within government's target of 4.0 to 5.0 percent for the whole year.

November's inflation however was higher-than-expected, with the central bank initially forecasting the figure to come in at between 2.4 and 3.1 percent for the month.

"The November headline inflation rate of 3.2 percent was due mainly to a sizeable uptick in the more volatile items like food and utilities," central bank deputy governor Diwa Gunigundo told reporters.

"(But) an appropriate level of money supply and firm peso helped cushion the otherwise strong build-up in inflation pressure coming from high oil prices and weather-related tight supply," he said.*AFP

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