YEAR-ON-YEAR
Philippines
The country’s annual headline inflation continued to go up as it was pegged at 3.4 percent in March 2017. It went up by 3.3 percent in the previous month and 1.1 percent in March 2016. Higher annual mark-ups were posted in the indices of the following commodity groups:
- Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (6.4%)
- Clothing and Footwear (2.9%)
- Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (4.0%)
- Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House (2.5%)
- Health (2.8%)
The rest of the commodity groups either had slower annual add-ons or retained their previous month’s rate. (Tables 6 and 8)
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation, likewise, rose by 2.9 percent in March 2017. It stood at 2.7 percent in the previous month and 1.5 percent in March 2016. (Table 15)
The annual growth in the food alone index decelerated to 4.2 percent in March 2017. It went up by 4.3 percent in the previous month and 1.6 percent in the same period a year ago. (Table 13)
Slower annual hikes were noted in the indices of fish at 7.0 percent; fruits, 7.5 percent; vegetables, 10.5 percent; sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery, 0.2 percent and food products not elsewhere classified, 1.0 percent. All the other food groups had higher annual gains except for corn index whose rate remained at 0.5 percent. (Table 10)
Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items January 2012 - March 2017 (2006=100) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Year | |||||
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
Jan | 4.0 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 2.7 |
Feb | 2.7 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 3.3 |
Mar | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 3.4 |
Apr | 3.0 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 1.1 | |
May | 3.0 | 2.6 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 | |
Jun | 2.9 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 1.9 | |
Jul | 3.2 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 0.8 | 1.9 | |
Aug | 3.8 | 2.1 | 4.9 | 0.6 | 1.8 | |
Sep | 3.7 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 0.4 | 2.3 | |
Oct | 3.2 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 2.3 | |
Nov | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 2.5 | |
Dec | 3.0 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 2.6 | |
Ave | 3.2 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 1.8 |
National Capital Region (NCR)
Annual inflation in NCR grew by 4.0 percent in March 2017. In the previous month, it went up by 3.6 percent and in March 2016, 0.2 percent. Higher annual upticks were registered in the indices of the following commodity groups:
- Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (8.6%)
- Clothing and Footwear (3.8%)
- Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (3.3%)
- Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House (2.5%)
- Health (2.4%)
- Communication (0.7%)
- Recreation and Culture (3.7%)
Slower annual hikes were, however, seen in the indices of food and non-alcoholoc beverages at 6.5 percent; transport, 2.9 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 1.0 percent. Annual movement in the education index remained at 2.6 percent. (Tables 6 and 8)
Areas Outside NCR (AONCR)
Annual inflation in AONCR, likewise, picked up by 3.3 percent in March 2017. It was recorded at 3.2 percent in the previous month and in March 2016, 1.3 percent. Higher annual growths were registered in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 6.1 percent; clothing and footwear, 2.6 percent; and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 4.2 percent. Annual movements in other commodity groups either slowed down or remained at their last month’s rate. (Tables 6 and 8)
Six regions posted higher annual upticks with the highest rate of 4.4 percent observed in Bicol Region. Meanwhile, the lowest annual inflation of 1.6 percent was noticed in Ilocos Region. (Table 8)
MONTH-ON-MONTH
Consumer prices in the Philippines moved up at a slower pace of 0.2 percent in March 2017. From a 0.5 percent decline recorded in the previous month, the index for transport rose by 0.5 percent. In addition, higher rates were registered in the indices of clothing and footwear at 0.2 percent; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, 0.3 percent. On the other hand, the growth in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index slowed down to 0.8 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index, 1.0 percent; and health index, 0.2 percent. The rest of the commodity groups either retained their previous month’s rate or had a zero growth with the food and non-alcoholic beverages index posting a negative monthly rate of 0.4 percent.
Higher charges for electricity rates were observed in all regions during the month. Ship fare hikes and upward adjustments in the prices of gasoline, diesel, LPG, alcoholic beverages and cigarettes were also recorded in NCR and in many provinces.
On the other hand, food items such as fish, fruits, vegetables, sugar, and selected condiments were generally priced lower during the period.
Note: CPIs and inflation rates by province and selected city are also available upon request at Philippine Statistics Authority, Economic Sector Statistics Service, Price Statistics Division (Telephone Number: 376-19-59).
FOR THE NATIONAL STATISTICIAN:
(Sgd) ROMEO S. RECIDE
(Deputy National Statistician, SSO)
Officer-in-Charge