MANILA - Inflation in the Philippines rose to 0.7% in September, from a 2-decade low posted the previous month, the government's statistics bureau said Tuesday.

The rise in inflation in September was mostly due to increases in prices of food, beverages and tobacco, the National Statistics Office said.

It said average inflation from January to September was 3.4%, still well within the government's full year forecast of 2.5% to 4.5%.

Inflation in August was 0.1%, the lowest in 20 years.

Excluding volatile food and energy items, core inflation slowed to 2.8% in September from 2.9% in August, the office said.

The government has said that inflation slowed in the Philippines this year as the economy suffered amid the global financial crisis, forcing many to cut on spending.

Economic growth slowed to 4.6% last year and to 1% in the first half of the year. The government has also cut its 2009 growth outlook in June to 0.8% to 1.8% from 3.1% to 4.1%.

The monthly inflation data did not take into account the impacts of tropical storm Ketsana, which killed nearly 300 people in and around Manila on September 26, as the information was computed before then, the office said.