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Release Date :
Reference Number :
2019-272

AUGUST 2019

YEAR-ON-YEAR

Philippines

Bottom 30%

The country’s year-on-year inflation for the bottom 30% income households continued to slow down as it posted a slower annual rate of 2.3 percent in August 2019. This is the lowest inflation recorded for this income group since January 2017.

Inflation was higher in July 2019 at 3.1 percent and in August 2018, 8.3 percent.

Compared with their annual rates in July 2019, all commodity groups had slower annual increments during the month, except for the indices of housing and repairs (H&R) and services, which retained their previous month’s annual rates of 4.5 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively (see Tables 3 and 4).

The food index at the national level exhibited a slower annual gain of 1.8 percent in August 2019. Food inflation in July 2019 was posted at 2.7 percent, and in August 2018, 8.2 percent (see Tables 5 and 7).

The indices of rice and corn both registered an annual decline of 1.9 percent during the month. Moreover, except cereal preparations and eggs, the indices of other food groups registered slower annual increases in August 2019. Annual hikes in the indices of cereal preparations at 3.3 percent and eggs at 3.1 percent were higher during the period (see Table 5).

Year-on-Year Inflation Rates of the CPI for Bottom 30% Income Households in the Philippines, All Items January 2015 – August 2019
(2000=100)
In Percent

Month

Year

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
January 3.8 1.0 2.4 4.7 5.9
February 2.9 1.0 3.0 5.4 5.0
March 2.6 1.2 3.0 5.8 4.6
April 2.5 1.0 2.9 6.3 4.3
May 2.1 1.1 2.6 6.4 4.6
June 1.5 1.4 2.6 6.7 4.0
July 0.8 1.3 2.7 7.6 3.1
August 0.4 1.3 3.0 8.3 2.3
September 0.1 1.6 3.3 9.5
October 0.4 1.7 3.4 9.5
November 0.9 2.0 3.4 8.3
December 1.1 2.1 3.7 7.2
Average 1.6 1.4 3.0 7.2

National Capital Region (NCR)

In NCR, the annual rate of consumer prices for the bottom 30% income households decline by 0.1 percent in August 2019. Inflation rate in the area was posted at 0.9 percent in July 2019, and 8.3 percent in August 2018.

The annual rate of fuel, light and water (FLW) index dropped further by 2.9 percent in August 2019. Moreover, the annual mark-up of services index decelerated to 1.9 percent during the month. On the other hand, the index of miscellaneous recorded a higher annual uptick of 1.8 percent, while the food, beverages and tobacco (FBT) index exhibited a zero annual growth. The rest of the commodity groups retained their previous month’s annual rates (see Tables 3 and 4).

Areas Outside NCR (AONCR)

Following the same trend as in the national level, inflation for the bottom 30% income households in AONCR eased further by 2.4 percent in August 2019. Inflation was higher at 3.1 percent in July 2019, and 8.3 percent in August 2018.

Slower annual increments were observed in the indices of all commodity groups, except for H&R and services, which retained their previous month’s annual rates of 4.5 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively (see Tables 3 and 4).

Relative to their annual rates in the previous month, all the regions outside NCR registered lower annual gains in August 2019, except in Region XI (Davao Region) whose inflation was higher at 3.4 percent during the month. The lowest inflation among the regions in AONCR was seen in Region II (Cagayan Valley) at 0.2 percent, while the highest was still observed in MIMAROPA Region at 6.2 percent (see Table 4).

Note:

Monthly CPIs for the bottom 30% income households by province and selected cities are posted at the PSA website (http://openstat.psa.gov.ph/).

See more at the Consumer Price Index for Bottom 30% Income Households Main page.

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