HEADLINE inflation accelerated to 2.5 percent in December from 1.3 percent in November, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Friday.Last month's figure, however, was still down from the 5.1 percent recorded in the same month in 2018.Year to date, headline inflation was at 2.5 percent, well within the government's 2.0 to 4.0 percent government target and also significantly down from the 5.2 percent recorded in 2018.'The main source of the upward trend in December 2019 inflation was the annual increase in the index of transport. The annual increment in food and non-alcoholic beverages also contributed to the uptrend in inflation in December 2019,' said Deputy National Statistician Rosalinda Bautista.Bautista said the annual increment in alcoholic beverages and tobacco also pushed up the inflation in December.
