MANILA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' headline inflation slowed further to 1.4 percent in April from 1.8 percent in the previous month, the lowest since November 2019, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.

"This brings the national average inflation rate from January to April 2025 to 2.0 percent," the PSA said in a statement.

PSA chief Dennis Mapa told a news conference that the downtrend in overall inflation in April was "primarily" brought about by the slower annual increment in the index of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 0.9 percent in April from 2.2 percent in the previous month.

Also contributing to the downtrend was the faster year-on-year decrease in the transport index at 2.1 percent during the month from a 1.1 percent annual drop in March, said Mapa.

The core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, remained at 2.2 percent in April. In April 2024, core inflation was faster at 3.2 percent, the PSA said.

"The sustained slowdown in inflation, driven largely by the significant decline in food prices, is a positive sign that our policy interventions are working," said Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon.

Edillon said the government will continue implementing strategies to monitor price shocks and proactively temper inflationary pressures.