Philippine headline inflation inched up to a new two-year high of 3.4 percent in March, with official data showing higher prices of electricity, gas and other fuels driving the index past the first two-year record of 3.3 percent hit in February.
The new rate is the highest since November 2014, when inflation registered 3.7 percent.
The consumer price index (CPI) in March jumped from 1.1 percent a year earlier.
The March rate matched the average of forecasts made by seven analysts polled by The Manila Times, based on a range of 3.1 percent to 3.6 percent.
But it came out lower than the Department of Finance’s estimate of 3.6 percent for the month based on the expected upward push on prices of food, power and fuel prices caused by the peso’s weakness.
