Manila, Dec 7 (TIWN) The year-on-year inflation rate in the Philippines accelerated to 8 per cent in November from 7.7 per cent in October, the highest since 2008, official figures revealed on Tuesday.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the country's average inflation rate from January to November 2022 stood at 5.6 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.  In November 2021, the inflation rate was 3.7 per cent.  In a news conference, PSA Officer-in-Charge Deputy National Statistician Divina Gracia Del Prado said services and non-food items such as electricity, food and beverage services, and transport services were the top sources of inflation in November.  Most key commodity groups registered faster inflation, particularly the food and non-alcoholic beverages index, which accelerated to 10 per cent from 9.4 per cent in October.  The 6.5 per cent increase in restaurant and accommodation services from 5.7 per cent in October also contributed to the inflation.  "Higher prices of vegetables, fruits, and rice (resulted from) lower production brought about by the onslaught of typhoons and higher cost of inputs. Similarly, sugar production is still reeling from the damage caused by recent typhoons," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.  The government raised its inflation projection for 2022 to 5.8 per cent from the previous assumption of 4.5 to 5.5 per cent due to the persisting high prices of food and transport costs, he added.  Meanwhile, the PSA said the core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy items in the headline inflation, rose to 6.5 per cent in November from 5.9 per cent in October.  In November 2021, core inflation was 2.4 per cent.