Consumer prices in the Philippines grew 12.5 percent in August compared with the same period last year, hitting a 17-year high but already showing signs of moderation, the government said Friday.

The headline inflation in July was already 12.3 percent, the highest since December 1991. But the overall month-on-month inflation rose at a slower rate of 0.3 percent in August than the 1.6 percent in July, the National Statistics Office announced.

All the commodity groups continued to record higher annual price hikes in August except for food, beverage and tabacco products, the office said. At the national level, the annual inflation rate for food alone decelerated to 18.1 percent in August from 18.6 percent in July.