• The country’s inflation for the bottom 30% income households continued to move downward as it settled to 0.5 percent in the third quarter of 2015. It was recorded at 2.1 percent in the second quarter of 2015 and 6.8 percent in the same quarter last year. This was mainly attributed to the annual decline posted in the fuel, light and water (FLW) index. Slower annual increases observed in the indices of all the other commodity groups during the quarter also contributed to the downtrend.

  • Inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) further dropped by 1.8 percent in the third quarter of 2015. Last quarter, it was pegged at -0.1 percent while it grew by 6.8 percent in the third quarter of 2014. This was primarily effected by the double-digit annual decrease in the FLW index during the quarter. Lower annual growths were also noted in the indices of all the other commodity groups except in housing and repair (H&R) index.

  • Inflation in Areas Outside the National Capital Region (AONCR) eased to 0.5 percent in the third quarter of 2015 as a negative annual rate was registered in the FLW index. Last quarter, the annual growth was 2.1 percent while it was posted at 6.8 percent during the third quarter of 2014. Annual increments in the indices of all the other commodity groups also slowed down during the period.

• Prices of items for consumers belonging to the bottom 30% income households rose 0.3 percent in the third quarter. The heavily-weighted food items such as ginger, garlic, cassava, cabbage, carrots, eggplant, sayote, corn, and sugar were priced higher in many regions. Also noted during the period were the upward adjustments in tuition fees in some provinces and higher prices of selected cleaning materials and household appliances.

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

First Quarter 2007 - Third Quarter 2015

• By Region, Year-on-Year
  

• Inflation in NCR dropped by 1.8 in the third quarter of 2015.

• In AONCR, inflation improved to 0.5 percent during the third quarter. Fourteen regions exhibited either slower annual upticks or negative rates. CALABARZON and SOCCSKSARGEN registered the lowest annual rate of -1.3 percent. On the other hand, Davao Region’s annual growth of 4.4 percent was the highest rate among the regions. Central Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula had a zero growth.

• By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year

  At the national level, the FLW index dropped by 7.0 percent in the third quarter of the year. The other commodity groups also had slower annual gains: FBT index, 1.1 percent; clothing index, 1.4 percent; H&R index, 2.6 percent; services index, 0.8 percent; and miscellaneous index, 1.0 percent.

  The country’s annual adjustment in the food alone index settled to 1.0 percent. Last quarter, it was registered at 3.1 percent.

  An annual decrease of 1.6 percent was observed in the rice index. Moreover, lower annual hikes were noted in most of the food groups: cereal preparations index, 1.5 percent; dairy products, 1.6 percent; eggs index, 3.0 percent; fish index, 2.8 percent; fruits and vegetables index, 5.7 percent; meat index, -0.1 percent; and miscellaneous foods index, 0.8 percent. On the contrary, the annual increase in the corn index was higher at 1.8 percent.
  

  • In NCR, the indices of FLW and FBT went down by 13.9 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Moreover, the annual add-on in the clothing index was slower at 1.2 percent; services index, 1.7 percent; and miscellaneous index, 0.5 percent. On the other hand, the annual growth of H&R index picked up 1.3 percent.

    The annual movement of the food alone index in NCR fell by 0.4 percent during the quarter. It grew by 1.8 percent in the previous quarter.

    Annual drops were noted in the rice index at -3.5 percent; eggs index, -4.1 percent; fish index, -2.0 percent; meat index, -1.4 percent; and miscellaneous foods index, -0.1 percent. In addition, the cereal preparations index moved up at a slower rate of 0.8 percent and dairy products index, 1.8 percent. The rest of the food groups had faster annual rates.

  • In AONCR, the FLW index declined by 6.8 percent in the third quarter of the year. Lower annual increments were seen in all the other commodity groups.

    A slower annual rate of 1.0 percent was seen in the food alone index in AONCR in the third quarter of 2015. Last quarter, it picked up by 3.1 percent.

    The rice index registered 1.6 percent decrease in the third quarter as eleven regions had negative rates. Moreover, other regions had lower annual growths.

    The annual adjustment in the meat index likewise went down by 0.1 percent. In addition, the annual movements improved in the cereal preparations index at 1.5 percent; dairy products index, 1.6 percent; eggs index, 3.2 percent; fish index, 2.9 percent; fruits and vegetables index, 5.7 percent; and miscellaneous foods index, 0.8 percent. On the other hand, a higher rate of 1.8 percent was seen in the corn index.

• By Region, Quarter-to-Quarter

  Compared to a quarter-ago level, prices of items for this particular group of consumers in NCR inched up by 0.1 percent in the third quarter. A higher increment was noticed in the heavily-weighted FBT index at 0.9 percent; H&R index, 1.1 percent; and miscellaneous index, 0.2 percent. The services index however, had a slower growth of 0.2 percent while the FLW index recorded a negative rate of 5.1 percent. The clothing index retained its last quarter’s growth of 0.2 percent.

  Price movements of consumer items for the bottom 30% income group in AONCR remained at 0.3 percent due to the mixed price trends observed among the commodity groups. A faster rate of 0.5 percent was posted in the FBT index while slowdowns were evident in clothing index at 0.2 percent; services index, 0.4 percent; and miscellaneous index, 0.1 percent. That for the FLW index declined by 1.4 percent while movement in the H&R index remained at 0.2 percent.

  Higher price increases were seen in seven regions. The highest rate of 1.4 percent was noted in Cagayan Valley and Davao Region. Meanwhile, the lowest rate of -0.3 percent was observed in CALABARZON.

  Among the three big areas of the country, price add-ons in consumer items in Mindanao were faster compared to Luzon. Meanwhile, prices in Visayas areas generally had no movement as it had a zero growth.

• By Commodity Group, Quarter-to-Quarter

  On a quarterly basis, prices of consumer items for the bottom 30% income group at the national level grew by 0.3 percent in the third quarter. The heavily-weighted FBT index climbed 0.5 percent. All the other commodity groups either had slower rates or retained their previous quarter rate except the FLW index which declined by 1.5 percent during the period.

  Bad weather conditions experienced in the months of July and August hit the fruits and vegetable producing areas in the country. Hence, upward price movements in ampalaya, carrot and onion in selected regions pushed up the fruits and vegetables index in AONCR by 2.1 percent. In NCR, the group’s index went up by 12.4 percent as prices of cabbage, carrot, and other leafy vegetables were priced higher during the quarter. At the national level, the fruits and vegetables index picked up 2.3 percent.

  The miscellaneous foods index in AONCR advanced by 1.4 percent. This was attributed to price hikes in spices and seasonings such as ginger, garlic and calamansi. On the other hand, the group’s index in NCR fell by 0.9 percent as prices of these items were lower in the area. The national index increased by 1.4 percent.

  Additions in the prices of corn raised the group’s index in the three areas: Philippines, 2.3 percent; NCR, 5.7 percent; and AONCR, 2.3 percent.

  Price hikes in eggs in most of the regions resulted to the 0.3 percent growth in its group’s index in AONCR. Meanwhile, the group’s index in NCR dropped by 0.9 percent due to lower prices of fresh eggs. At the national level, its group’s index grew by 0.3 percent.

  Chicken and beef were generally priced higher in many provinces during the quarter. Hence, the meat index in AONCR inched up 0.2 percent; and in NCR, 2.5 percent. In the Philippines, the index rose 0.2 percent.

  The index for dairy products in AONCR gained 0.2 percent as prices of milk and milk products generally moved upward in selected regions. On the other hand, prices of powdered milk went down in NCR. Hence, its group’s index declined by 0.2 percent. In the Philippines, the dairy products index increased by 0.2 percent.

  With eleven regions registering either negative or slower rates, the rice index in AONCR decreased by 0.1 percent as abundant supply was evident in the market in the third quarter. The group’s index in NCR likewise went down by 0.4 percent and at the national level, -0.1 percent.

  The prevalence of good weather conditions during the quarter favored fishermen in their activity. This brought abundant supplies of selected fish species in the markets which made their prices cheaper. Thus, the fish index in AONCR dropped by 0.8 percent and in NCR, -2.0 percent. At the national level, the fish index plunged by 0.8 percent.
  

• Tuition fee hikes in some provinces during the opening of school semester and price increases in selected school supplies in many regions during the quarter raised the services index in the three areas: Philippines and AONCR, 0.4 percent; and NCR, 0.2 percent.

• With increments in the prices for some household appliances and goods like cleaning materials, the miscellaneous index in NCR gained 0.2 percent during the quarter; 0.1 percent in AONCR and at the national level.

• The H&R index of AONCR climbed by 0.2 percent. Upward movements in the prices in selected construction materials like cement, gravel, sand and hollow blocks in many regions were noted during the quarter. Higher rental rates for the dwelling units pushed the group’s index in NCR by 1.1 percent. In the Philippines, the H&R index increased by 0.2 percent.

• Higher charges for sewing services during the third quarter effected a 0.2 percent growth in the clothing index in the three areas.

• Lower charges in the electricity rates together with the price rollbacks in LPG and kerosene in many regions pulled down the FLW index in AONCR by 1.4 percent and in NCR, -5.1 percent. At the national level, the group’s index dropped by 1.5 percent.

Note:

1. 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).