In May, the Philippines saw a stable inflation rate of 4.5%, remaining steady for the second consecutive month, as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority. Despite this, the current rate is higher than the 2.1% recorded in the same month the previous year. The first five months of 2021 averaged an inflation rate of 4.4%, surpassing the government's target range of 2.0% to 4.0%. Notably, the inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages slowed down to 4.6%, while alcoholic beverages and tobacco saw an 11.8% increase. The transportation index's double-digit annual hike also moderated to 16.5%. Excluding certain food and energy items, the core inflation for May was 3.3%, similar to the previous month's rate. Inflation for food increased slightly to 4.9% in May from 5.0% in the previous month, while in May of the previous year, it was 2.9%.