DECEMBER 2018

YEAR-ON-YEAR

Philippines

The country’s year-on-year inflation for the bottom 30% income households eased further to 7.2 percent in December 2018. In the previous month, annual inflation settled to 8.3 percent, while in the same month of the previous year, it was posted at 3.7 percent. Compared with their annual increments in November 2018, slower annual mark-ups during the month were noted in the indices of food, beverages and tobacco (FBT) at 8.1 percent; fuel, light and water (FLW), 5.3 percent; and services, 3.6 percent.

On the other hand, higher annual rates during the month were noticed in the indices of housing and repairs (H&R) at 5.5 percent; and miscellaneous at 2.4 percent. Meanwhile, clothing index retained its previous month’s annual increase of 3.1 percent (see Tables 3 and 4).

Average annual inflation for the bottom 30% income households at the national level for the year 2018 accelerated by 7.2 percent from 3.0 percent in 2017. Compared with their 2017 average annual rates, the average annual hikes in 2018 were higher in the indices of all the commodity groups (see Table 3).

The food index at the national level continued to move at a slower pace of 7.1 percent in December 2018. Its annual change was noted at 8.3 percent in the previous month and 3.7 percent in December 2017(see Tables 5 and 7).

Relative to their annual rates in the previous month, annual increments in December 2018 were slower in the following food groups:

• Rice (7.8%);
• Corn (1.2%);
• Eggs (3.0%);
• Fish (10.5%);
• Fruits and vegetables (8.7%);
• Meat (5.6%); and
• Miscellaneous foods (5.9%).

On the contrary, higher annual add-ons of 4.1 percent and 3.8 percent were correspondingly observed in the indices of cereal preparations and dairy products (see Table 5).

National Capital Region (NCR)

The annual growth of prices in NCR decelerated further to 4.8 percent in December 2018. In the previous month, inflation was pegged at 6.2 percent, while in December 2017, the annual rate was recorded at 4.4 percent. The downtrend was primarily due to the slower annual increase in the heavily-weighted FBT index at 4.6 percent. Moreover, annual hikes in the indices of FLW and services also eased to 7.7 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.

Compared with its previous month’s annual rate, annual gain in miscellaneous index was higher by 3.1 percent. The indices of clothing and H&R retained their corresponding previous month’s annual increases of 1.9 percent and 0.2 percent (see Tables 3 and 4).

The average annual inflation in the area picked up by 6.6 percent in 2018 from 5.0 percent in 2017 (see Table 3).

The food index in NCR posted an annual hike of 3.6 percent during the month. In November 2018, inflation of the food index in the area was registered at 5.1 percent, while in December 2017, it was recorded at 3.5 percent (see Tables 5 and 7).

Annual declines of 1.7 percent and 15.8 percent during the month were observed in the indices of rice and corn, respectively. Moreover, slower annual upticks were noted in the indices of fish at 7.3 percent; fruits and vegetables, 3.0 percent; meat, 3.4 percent; and miscellaneous foods, 5.6 percent.

On the other hand, annual changes in the indices of cereal preparations and eggs correspondingly went up by 3.7 percent and 1.9 percent during the month. The dairy products index retained its previous month’s annual growth of 9.3 percent (see Table 5).

Areas Outside NCR (AONCR)

Likewise, inflation in AONCR for the bottom 30% income households continued to move slower at 7.3 percent in December 2018. In the previous month, its annual rate was recorded at 8.3 percent, while in December 2017, it was observed at 3.7 percent. The indices of FBT and FLW posted slower annual upticks of 8.2 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.

On the contrary, higher annual gains were registered in the indices of clothing at 3.2 percent; H&R, 5.6 percent; and miscellaneous, 2.4 percent. The services index retained its previous month’s annual rate of 3.6 percent (see Tables 3 and 4).

Relative to their annual increases in the previous month, all the regions had slower annual add-ons during the month. The highest annual gain of 13.1 percent remained in MIMAROPA Region, while the lowest of 2.9 percent was still noted in ARMM (see Table 4).

The average annual inflation in AONCR went up by 7.2 percent in 2018 from 3.0 percent in 2017 (see Table 3).

Year-on-year growth of the food index in AONCR decelerated further to 7.1 percent in December 2018. The annual rate was posted at 8.3 percent in the previous month and 3.7 percent in December 2017 (see Tables 5 and 7).

Slower annual upticks during the month were recorded in the indices of all the food groups, except for cereal preparations and dairy products, which exhibited higher annual mark-ups of 4.2 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively (see Table 5).

Note:

Monthly CPIs for the bottom 30% income households by province and selected cities are also available upon request at PSA, Price Statistics Division (Telephone Number: (02) 376-1959)

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