Manila - The Philippine's inflation rate eased to 11.9 per cent in August amid stability in food and oil prices, the government said Tuesday.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) said September's inflation rate was lower than 12.5 per cent recorded in August. Inflation in September last year was 2.7 per cent.

"The country's annual inflation rate for food alone continued to improve at 17 per cent in September from 18.1 per cent in August," the agency said.

The NSO noted that the annual price hike in rice, the nation's staple food, slid to 37.3 per cent in September from 45.1 per cent in August.

The September rate brought the average inflation rate to 9.2 per cent for the year's first nine months.

The Central Bank forecast annual inflation to average between 9 per cent and 11 per cent for the full year. (dpa)