The Philippines' inflation rate dipped to 4.3 per cent in January from the same month a year ago because of lower prices of fruits and vegetables, the government said Friday. The National Statistics Office said the January rate was a tad lower than the 4.4 per cent recorded in December. The inflation rate in January 2009 was 7.1 per cent, according to dpa. The agency said that although prices of food like rice, fish, sugar and flour increased, those higher costs were offset by a decline in the prices of fruits and vegetables as well as "slower upward prices adjustments in services." "The annual inflation rate for food alone slid to 4.5 per cent in January from 5.3 per cent in December," it said. The Philippines average inflation rate in 2009 was 3.2 per cent compared with 9.3 per cent a year earlier. Government economists projected the 2010 average annual inflation rate at 4.7 per cent.
