Food, Beverages and Tobacco (FBT) and Non-FBT Items
(NCR and AONCR - February 2010)

1. CPI of Food, Beverages and Tobacco (FBT): National Capital Region (NCR) and Areas Outside the National Capital Region (AONCR)
   

   The seasonally adjusted CPI of FBT items in NCR and AONCR correspondingly went up to 155.6 and 169.2 in February from their respective January levels of 155.4 and 168.8.

   Seasonal factors such as the favorable weather conditions to fishermen in catching fish resulted to its sufficient supply in the wet markets. Enough supply of in-season fish species like tuna also pulled down its prices. In addition, supply of in-season fruits was notably abundant during the month. These seasonal factors pushed down prices of FBT items in the two areas relative to the expected trend.

   Compared to last month, prices of the seasonally adjusted CPI for FBT items in NCR rose to 0.1 percent in February from -0.5 percent in January while that for AONCR remained at 0.2 percent.

2. CPI of Non-FBT items: National Capital Region (NCR) and Areas Outside the National Capital Region (AONCR)

The seasonally adjusted CPI of non-FBT items in NCR and AONCR posted at 166.4 and 163.7 in February were higher than their January levels of 164.5 and 162.9, respectively.

Seasonal factors such as the production of selected goods in preparation for the graduation season pushed down prices of non-FBT items in NCR and AONCR relative to the expected trend.

The month-on-month inflation of the seasonally adjusted CPI for non-FBT items in NCR moved up at a higher rate at 1.2 percent in February from 0.7 percent in January. On the other hand, it slowed down in AONCR at 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent.

For technical notes and other related information,
please visit:
http://www.census.gov.ph
or contact the Economic Indicators and Indices Division, NSO
at telephone number 716-3935

Page last updated: March 5, 2010