Inflation jumped to 7.2 percent in September, an increase of 1.1 percent from the previous month.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said this brings the average inflation rate from January to September to 5.4 percent.

The uptrend in the overall inflation rate was influenced primarily by the faster annual increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages, from 4.6 percent in August to 6.7 percent in September.

Also contributing to the uptrend are the faster annual increments in the housing, water, electricity, and gas and other fuels index and the transport index, at 8.4 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively.

Faster annual increases were also observed in the following:

- alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 6.5 percent from 6.3 percent

- clothing and footwear, 3.3 percent from 3.1 percent

- furnishing, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 4.7 percent from 4.1 percent

-health, 5.6 percent from 5.1 percent

- recreation, sport and culture, 5.3 percent from 5.1 percent

- education services, 1.7 percent from 1.5 percent

- restaurants and accommodation services, 7 percent from 6.8 percent

-personal care, miscellaneous goods and services, 4.1 percent from 3.9 percent

The information and communication index, meanwhile, saw a lower year-on-year growth rate of 0.9 percent from 1 percent in August.

The financial services index remained at 0 percent inflation rate.

Sunog sa Barangay Central, Quezon City