Palace Press Officer Claire Castro during the Malacanang press briefing on July 16, 2026. Screen grab from RTVM livestream/Facebook.
The Marcos administration said Thursday it would remain cautious despite inflation slowing for a third straight month in July, citing continued risks from Middle East tensions and El Niño.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the government welcomed the easing of consumer price increases but would continue monitoring pressures on food and energy costs.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that headline inflation slowed to 6.2 percent in July from 6.4 percent in June, driven mainly by weaker non-food inflation. Food inflation remained unchanged.
The July figure was within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ forecast range of 5.6 percent to 6.6 percent and below the 6.4 percent median estimate of economists surveyed by the Inquirer.
Inflation has eased since peaking at 7.2 percent in April, although the average for the first seven months of the year remained high at 5 percent, above the central bank’s 3 percent target.
Metro Manila inflation slowed to 4.4 percent from 4.9 percent, partly due to weaker increases in housing-related costs.
The Palace also cited easing fuel and transport pressures as global oil prices declined. Pork, chicken and some vegetables, including eggplant, garlic and onions, also recorded lower prices.
Castro said rice prices continued to fall month on month, although annual rice inflation remained elevated because of base effects.
The government earlier pooled Php 22.79 billion in savings to fund assistance for sectors affected by the Middle East crisis, including a Php 12.375-billion package for 7.5 million poor and near-poor families.
