Manila, Jul 5 (IANS): Year-on-year inflation in the Philippines slowed further to 5.4 per cent in June 2023 from 6.1 per cent in May due to lower food and transport costs, authorities said on Wednesday.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed the average inflation rate from January to June this year stood at 7.2 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.

The inflation rate in June 2022 was higher at 6.1 per cent.

"This is the fifth consecutive month of deceleration in the headline inflation and the lowest in the past 13 months," PSA head Dennis Mapa told a news conference.

Mapa added the main drivers that pulled down the June inflation rate were food and non-alcoholic beverages, which declined to 6.7 per cent from 7.4 per cent in May.

The faster annual decrease at minus 3.1 per cent in transport from minus 0.5 per cent in May also contributed to the downtrend of the June inflation.

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels were the third main source of deceleration, with a 5.6 per cent annual growth rate from 6.5 per cent in the previous month.

Meanwhile, Mapa said the core inflation, excluding selected food and energy items in the headline inflation, slowed to 7.4 per cent in June from 7.7 per cent in May.

"We are making progress in managing inflation, and we can expect that it will decline to within 2 to 4 per cent by the end of the year," National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

Balisacan said that the government inter-agency committee on inflation and market outlook will take "proactive steps to address the leading causes of inflation", considering the impending El Nino, which poses risks to food supply and prices.

The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts inflation in the Philippines to average 6.2 per cent in 2023 before easing to 4 per cent in 2024.