Philippine annual inflation slowed more than expected in April due to slower increments in all the commodity groups except in the education index, data showed Tuesday.
The headline inflation rate fell to 2.6 percent in April from 3.2 percent in March, the National Statistics Office reported. It was forecast to slow to 2.8 percent.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core annual inflation also eased in April, to 3.1 percent from 3.8 percent in March.
Month-on-month, consumer prices gained 0.2 percent, faster than the 0.1 percent rise in March.
The transport index posted an annual decrease of 0.7 percent compared to 0.5 percent growth in March. The rest of the commodity groups registered slower annual hikes with the education index retaining its last month's rate of 4.4 percent. Food inflation came in at 2.1 percent, down from 2.8 percent a month ago.
In a separate communique, the statistical office said producer prices in the manufacturing industry logged an annual fall of 8.9 percent in March, following a 9.3 percent drop in February. On a month-on-month basis, the producer price index reflected a minimal increase of 0.1 percent in March.
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