Inflation declined to 6.3 percent in August after rising for five months, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday.

''The slowdown in inflation at the national level in August 2022 was primarily due to the lower annual increment recorded in the index for transport at 14.6 percent, from 18.1 percent in the previous month,'' Undersecretary Dennis Mapa said in the PSA website.

''This was followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages whose index declined by 6.3 percent year-on-year, from 6.9 percent in July 2022,'' Mapa added.

Inflation in the National Capital Region increased to 5.7 percent in August, from 5.1 percent in July. In August 2021, inflation rate in the area stood at 3.3 percent. In areas outside NCR, inflation slowed down to 6.5 percent, from 6.8 percent in July 2022.

Inflation from January to August has averaged 4.9 percent, still off from the official target of 4.5-5.5 percent for the year.

Inflation for food at the national level slid to 6.5 percent, from 7.1 percent in July.

''The deceleration in food inflation was mainly brought about by vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, which declined annually by -2.7 percent,'' Mapa added.

''Moreover, annual hikes slowed down in the indices of corn at 26.1 percent; meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals at 9.6 percent; and fish and other seafood at 7.2 percent,'' he said.

The following food groups exhibited faster annual growth: sugar, confectionery and desserts, 26.0 percent; rice, 2.2 percent; flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 8 percent; milk, other dairy products and eggs, 6.5 percent; oils and fats, 19.6 percent; fruits and nuts, 3.9 percent. DMS