Philippines inflation climbs to 7.8% on fuel and fares

Consumer prices in the Philippines rose 7.8% in the year to October 2026, Rappler reported, with fuel prices and transport fares pushing the rate up.

The report, filed on Friday, gave the annual figure and the two drivers but did not name the statistics agency that compiles the index, give the month-on-month change, or say how the October rate compared with September. Food, housing and utility prices were not broken out.

A rate of 7.8% is high enough to change what a household can buy from the same wage. Fuel is an input into transport fares and into the cost of moving goods, so a rise in oil prices reaches consumers through several bills at once.

Rappler's account did not say what the central bank in Manila, which sets interest rates with a price stability mandate, intends to do at its next meeting or when that meeting is due.

The same week, Chile's National Statistics Institute reported annual inflation of 4.5% in October, up from 4.1% in September, according to The Rio Times. The consumer price index rose 0.5% from September, with six of the 13 groups in the basket rising. Transport rose 2.0% and food and non-alcoholic drinks 1.0%.

Gasoline in Chile rose 4.5% in October and 26.2% since January. Diesel rose 12.3% in the month and 53.5% so far this year. International air fares rose 13% in the month, while internet connections fell 14.7% and domestic air fares 11.8%, softening the monthly total.

The Central Bank of Chile held its main rate at 4.5% on 27 October and said risks to inflation had risen. Its target is 3% a year. It meets next in December, after November price data is published.