Month-on-Month Growth Rates

At the national level, increments in the seasonally adjusted CPI for all items; clothing and footwear; health; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services remained at 0.2 percent and alcoholic, beverages and tobacco index, 0.8 percent. A slower monthly increase was however noticed in the seasonally adjusted CPI for furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of house at 0.1 percent from 0.2 percent and education index, 0.4 percent from 0.8 percent. A 0.2 percent decline was recorded in the index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels while a zero growth was noted in recreation and culture index.

Relative to the expected trend, the lean month of July pushed up the indices for all items; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; health; recreation and culture; education; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services.

The seasonally adjusted CPI in NCR for alcoholic beverages and tobacco and transport retained their respective last month’s rates of 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent. On the other hand, the mark-up in the seasonally CPI for education eased to 0.2 percent in July from 1.1 percent while those for non-food and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of house indices dropped by 0.2 percent.

The weak consumer demand during the lean month pushed up the indices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco; non-food; and education in NCR. The index for transport was however pushed down by this seasonal factor while it did not affect the index for furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house.

In AONCR, the seasonally adjusted CPI for health picked up 0.2 percent in July from 0.1 percent in June. On the other hand, the monthly gain in clothing and footwear index slowed down to 0.2 percent from 0.3 percent and education index, 0.4 percent from 0.6 percent. Moreover, the index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels fell by 0.2 percent from 0.5 percent. The seasonally adjusted CPI for alcoholic beverages and tobacco retained its last month’s rate of 0.9 percent and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of house and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services indices, 0.2 percent. The seasonally adjusted CPI for recreation and culture posted a zero growth during the month from 1.1 percent in June.

The lean month pushed up the indices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; health; recreation and culture; education; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services.