Inflation in the Philippines rose to 2.0 percent in January 2026 from 1.8 percent in December 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

Despite the increase, the January inflation rate remained lower than the 2.9 percent recorded in January 2025.

According to the PSA, the slight uptick in inflation was mainly driven by higher prices in housing, utilities, and services.

The housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index increased to 3.3 percent in January from 2.5 percent in the previous month. Prices of restaurants and accommodation services also climbed faster, rising to 4.0 percent from 2.4 percent.

Other sectors that saw faster price increases included clothing and footwear, furnishings and household equipment, health services, information and communication, recreation and culture, and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services.

Meanwhile, inflation slowed in several commodity groups. Food and non-alcoholic beverages eased to 1.1 percent from 1.4 percent, while alcoholic beverages and tobacco declined to 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent. Education services also recorded slower inflation at 2.8 percent from 3.0 percent.

Transport prices fell during the month, with the transport index posting an annual decline of 0.3 percent, reversing the 0.3 percent increase seen in December 2025. Inflation for financial services remained unchanged.

The PSA said the biggest contributors to January’s inflation were housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which accounted for 33.5 percent of the total inflation rate. This was followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages at 22.2 percent, and restaurants and accommodation services at 19.6 percent.