PHILIPPINES

Inflation Rises to 7.2%: The country’s annual rate accelerated in June for a fourth straight month to the highest rate this year as drought and disease caused food stocks to fall and as strong demand for housing drove up rents. The National Statistics Office in Manila said inflation for the year through May was 6.7%, lower than the government’s estimate of 6.8%. Prices for food, beverages and tobacco, which account for half of the consumer price index, rose 7.5% in June from 6.7% in May. Officials expressed little worry over inflation’s continuing rise--something that many countries would take as a sign of an overheating economy. “There is no cause for alarm because we are still within the single-digit range,” Finance Secretary Roberto de Ocampo said.