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Release Date :
Reference Number :
2016-051

FIRST QUARTER 2016


  • Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items
  • Area

    First Quarter 2016

    Fourth Quarter 2015

    First Quarter 2015

    Year-to-date

    Philippines

    1.1

    0.8

    3.1

    1.1

    NCR

    -0.5

    -0.8

    1.5

    -0.5

    AONCR

    1.1

    0.8

    3.1

    1.1

    • Inflation for the bottom 30% income households picked up by 1.1 percent for the first quarter of 2016. It went up by 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 3.1 percent in the first quarter last year. This was due to higher annual growths recorded in the indices of food, beverages and tobacco (FBT) and services.
      • Inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) continued to register a negative annual rate at 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2016. Last quarter, it was pegged at -0.8 percent and in the first quarter of 2015, 1.5 percent. This was effected by the double-digit annual decline in the index of fuel, light and water (FLW) during the quarter. Except for the FBT index, slower annual increments noted in all the other commodity groups also contributed to the downtrend.

      • Inflation in Areas Outside the National Capital Region (AONCR) increased by 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016. The annual change in the previous quarter was posted at 0.8 percent while during the same quarter a year ago, it was observed at 3.1 percent. Higher annual gains were seen in the indices of FBT and services (Table 8).

  • Quarter-to-Quarter Inflation Rates, All Items
  • Area

    First Quarter 2016

    Fourth Quarter 2015

    Philippines

    0.2

    0.3

    NCR

    -0.5

    0.2

    AONCR

    0.2

    0.3

    • The country’s quarter-to-quarter growth for the bottom 30% income households was slower at 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2016. Higher prices observed in most of the regions in the heavily-weighted food items such as fruits, vegetables, milk, fish and spices were tempered by the general downward adjustments in the prices of kerosene, LPG, gasoline and diesel and the lower charges in electricity rates in many regions (Table 7).

    Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items

    First Quarter 2008 - First Quarter 2016

    Quarter

    Year

    2008

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012 2013 2014 2015

    2016

    1st

    6.9

    12.3

    4.2

    4.6

    2.7 3.5 5.7 3.1

    1.1

    2nd

    14.3

    5.5

    3.5

    5.4

    2.4 3.1 6.5 2.1

    3rd

    19.3

    0.2

    3.7

    5.2

    3.1 3.5 6.8 0.5

    4th

    15.1

    3.4

    3.1

    5.2

    3.0 4.8 5.1 0.8

    Average

    13.9

    5.4

    3.6

    5.1

    2.9 3.7 6.0 1.6

    • By Region, Year-on-Year

    • The year-on-year change in the consumer prices for this income group in NCR dropped by 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2016.

    • However, consumer prices for the bottom 30% income group in AONCR picked up by 1.1 percent during the quarter relative to the year ago level. Ten regions posted higher annual rates during the period with Cagayan Valley recording the highest annual growth of 3.3 percent. Meanwhile, the lowest annual rate was in Zamboanga Peninsula at -0.3 percent (Table 8).

    • By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year

    • The annual change of the FLW index in the Philippines continued to register a negative rate at 3.2 percent during the first quarter of 2016. Slower annual mark-ups were also observed in the indices of clothing at 1.3 percent; housing and repairs (H&R), 2.0 percent; and miscellaneous, 0.9 percent. On the other hand, annual increments in the indices of FBT and services were higher by 1.5 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively (Table 8).

      The annual rate of the food alone index at the national level was faster at 1.3 percent during the first quarter of 2016. Last quarter, it was registered at 1.1 percent (Table 10).

      Annual increase in dairy products index was higher at 1.5 percent in the first quarter of 2016; fruits and vegetables index, 7.2 percent; and miscellaneous foods index, 2.7 percent. On the contrary, the annual gain in corn index slowed down to 0.7 percent; cereal preparations index, 0.8 percent; eggs index, 1.0 percent; and fish index, 2.0 percent. The indices for rice and meat still recorded negative annual rates at 1.0 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively (Table 10).

      • In NCR, a double-digit annual decline of 11.2 percent was still noted in FLW index during the quarter. Moreover, the annual increase in clothing index decelerated to 0.5 percent; H&R index, 1.1 percent; services index, 0.1 percent; and miscellaneous index, 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, the FBT index posted a higher annual growth of 1.1 percent (Table 8).

        The annual adjustment of the food alone index in NCR picked up by 1.1 percent in the first quarter of the year. Last quarter, the growth was pegged at 0.5 percent (Table 10).

        Double-digit annual increases were noted in the indices of corn and fruits and vegetables at 23.3 percent and 13.4 percent, respectively. In addition, the annual uptick in cereal preparations index was higher at 1.4 percent; fish index, 1.0 percent; and meat index, 1.9 percent. From an annual drop of 0.2 percent in the previous quarter, the miscellaneous foods index inched up by 0.1 percent. The rest of the food groups recorded annual decreases (Table 10).

      • In AONCR, the annual increment in the heavily-weighted FBT index was higher at 1.4 percent and services index, 1.3 percent. The rest of the commodity groups moved at slower rates with the FLW index still registering a negative annual change at 3.0 percent (Table 8).

        The annual adjustment of the food alone index in AONCR advanced by 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2016. Last quarter, it was pegged at 1.1 percent (Table 10).

        The annual movement in the dairy products index climbed by 1.5 percent; fruits and vegetables index, 7.1 percent; and miscellaneous foods index, 2.7 percent. The rest of the food groups recorded either slower or negative rates (Table 10).

        The annual change in the rice index decreased by 1.0 percent in the first quarter of 2016 as nine regions posted annual declines. The lowest annual rate of -6.3 percent was seen in Bicol Region while the highest growth was in Davao Region at 1.7 percent (Table 10).

    • By Region, Quarter-to-Quarter

    • Compared with a quarter ago level, prices for this particular group of consumers in NCR dropped by 0.5 percent in the first quarter 2016. This was primarily due to the 4.4 percent decrease noted in the FLW index during the quarter. Likewise, the indices of services and miscellaneous went down by 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. Lower growth in the FBT index at 0.1 percent also contributed to the downtrend. Meanwhile, the clothing index moved upward by 0.1 percent while no movement was seen in H&R index.

    • Increments in the prices of consumer items for this income group in AONCR improved to 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2016 as the FLW index further declined by 1.9 percent. Moreover, a slower rate of 0.1 percent was recorded in the services index. The rest of the commodity groups registered higher quarterly growths.

    • Eleven regions exhibited either slower or negative quarterly rates. The lowest change at -0.5 percent was observed in CAR and Davao Region while the highest was in MIMAROPA at 1.4 percent (Table 7).

    • Price upticks in consumer items in Mindanao were slower compared to Luzon and Visayas areas.

    • By Commodity Group, Quarter-to-Quarter

    • On a quarterly basis, price increases at the national level moved slower at 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2016. This was brought about by the 1.9 percent drop in the FLW index during the quarter. Contributing also to the downtrend was the slower growth in services index at 0.1 percent. The rest of the commodity groups had higher quarterly rates (Table 7).

      Upward price adjustments in vegetables particularly eggplant, bitter gourd, and tomatoes were registered in many regions during the quarter. Higher prices of fruits were also observed in some regions. Thus, the fruits and vegetables index in AONCR advanced by 1.7 percent. On the other hand, lower prices of tomatoes, onions and cabbage were noted in NCR. Hence, the group’s index in the area went down by 4.1 percent. The national index went up by 1.7 percent.

      The difficulty in catching fish species in the cold mornings in January and February lowered their volume of supplies in the markets. Hence, prices of selected fish species were higher in many regions. Bigger demand of fish during the Lenten season also resulted to higher prices in the markets during the period. All these factors contributed to the 2.9 percent growth in the group’s index in NCR and 1.2 percent in AONCR. For the Philippines, the fish index accelerated by 1.2 percent.

      The meat index rose by 0.3 percent in AONCR and 0.5 percent in NCR during the quarter. Prices of meat such as beef and chicken were higher in selected regions. At the country level, the index inched up by 0.3 percent.

      The dairy products index in AONCR increased by 0.6 percent due to the increments in the prices of milk and milk products. On the other hand, the group’s index in NCR dropped by 0.3 percent as prices of powdered milk in the area generally went down during the quarter. At the national level, the group’s index went up by 0.5 percent.

      In AONCR, the eggs index moved up by 0.5 percent and in NCR, 0.2 percent. The national index had a 0.5 percent growth during the quarter.

      From a double-digit growth last quarter, the increase in the corn index in NCR improved by 6.6 percent in the first quarter of 2016. Meanwhile, the corn index in AONCR further declined during the quarter as it still recorded a negative rate of 0.8 percent during the period. For the Philippines, the corn index fell by 0.8 percent.

      With ten regions posting negative rates, the rice index in AONCR shrank by 0.3 percent during the first quarter of the year. Likewise, the index for rice in NCR dropped by 0.1 percent. Enough supplies of rice in the markets were generally observed during the quarter. At the country level, the group’s index contracted by 0.3 percent (Table 9).

    • The FLW index in NCR decreased by 4.4 percent and in AONCR, -1.9 percent. This was due to lower prices in kerosene and LPG during the period. The group’s index in the Philippines fell by 1.9 percent.

    • Increased charges for selected medical and personal services were noticed in some regions. Hence, the services index in AONCR inched up 0.1 percent. In NCR, price cuts in gasoline and diesel generally pushed down the services index in the area by 0.4 percent. At the national level, the growth in the services index was pegged at 0.1 percent.

    • With higher rental rates of the dwelling units and increments in the salaries of carpenters and electricians in many regions, the index for H&R in AONCR rose by 0.9 percent. The group’s index in NCR, however, registered a zero growth. At the country level, the H&R index moved up by 0.9 percent.

    • Prices for some items for household operations and personal care and effects generally went up during the quarter in many regions. Thus, the miscellaneous items index in AONCR advanced by 0.3 percent. On the other hand, the group’s index in NCR declined by 0.2 percent as prices of selected cleaning products in the area were generally lower during the period. At the national level, the growth of the group’s index was at 0.3 percent.

    • The clothing index in NCR went up by 0.1 percent and in AONCR, 0.4 percent. This was brought about by the increases in the prices of selected clothing and footwear items and higher charges for sewing services in NCR and in selected regions. For the Philippines, the group’s index inched up by 0.4 percent (Table 7).


    Note:

    1. The second survey report from Tawi-tawi for March 2016 was not received as of May 2, 2016.
    2. 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: 376-1959).

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