The Philippine economy faced pressure on multiple fronts after posting Southeast Asia’s second-weakest growth in the second quarter. (EPA Images pic)MANILA: Philippine inflation accelerated to its fastest pace in almost four years in October as the prolonged Middle East conflict drove up the cost of fuel, electricity and transport in a nation heavily reliant on the region for its energy supplies.

Consumer prices hit 7.8% last month from a year earlier, the highest since an 8.6% print in February 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Thursday. Inflation was 7.2% in September, and the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey put October’s number at 7.6%.

The acceleration was mainly driven by a jump in transport costs, the authority said. Another factor was a “faster annual increase observed in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index.”