A surprising calm descended upon the prices of everyday goods in the nation’s capital last year. Preliminary figures reveal a deceleration in retail price growth, reaching its lowest point in a decade – a shift that signals a changing economic landscape.
The overall retail price index for Metro Manila crept up by just 1.1% in 2025, a noticeable slowdown from the 1.8% increase recorded the previous year. This marks the weakest growth since 2015, when prices barely budged at 0.6%.
A significant factor driving this trend was a cooling in food price increases. The food sub-index, which represents over a third of all retail goods, rose by only 1.4% – a considerable drop from the 2.4% seen in 2024.
The slowdown wasn’t limited to food. Price increases also softened for essential categories like beverages and tobacco, slipping from 3.5% to 3%. Even typically stable sectors like chemicals and manufactured goods experienced diminished growth.
One sector bucked the trend, experiencing an actual price *decrease*. Mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials saw a decline of 1.0%, a stark contrast to the 0.4% increase observed the year before.
Despite the overall yearly slowdown, December offered a glimmer of upward momentum. Retail price growth in Metro Manila ticked up to 1.5% year-on-year, the strongest showing in seventeen months – a figure not seen since July 2024.
