* r - revised

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (1994=100)
JULY 1999

lBy Commodity Group, Year-on-Year

è Food, beverages and tobacco (FBT) inflation remained at its June rate of 3.5 percent. The rates for housing and repairs (HR) slowed down to 9.3 percent in July from 9.6 percent in June; miscellaneous items, 4.5 percent from 4.8 percent; and clothing, 5.7 percent from 6.0 percent. On the other hand, the rates increased for services to 11.1 percent in July from 10.7 percent in June; and fuel, light and water (FLW), 5.7 percent from 5.6 percent.

> The inflation rate for food alone moved down to 3.2 percent in July from 3.3 percent in June. Lower rates were posted in the prices of rice, 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent; cereal preparations, 3.9 percent from 4.5 percent; dairy products, 3.3 percent from 3.4 percent; eggs, 7.3 percent from 10.8 percent; fruits and vegetables, -1.5 percent from -0.7 percent; and miscellaneous foods, 3.7 percent from 4.4 percent. The price of corn was still on the decline at -2.3 percent. Meanwhile, higher rates were registered in the prices of fish, 7.3 percent from 6.2 percent; and meat, 2.1 percent from 1.1 percent.

è In Metro Manila (MM), the rates for FBT and services were correspondingly higher by 0.9 percentage point and 0.5 percentage point. However, the rates for FLW and clothing declined by 0.7 percentage point; and H&R, 0.4 percentage point. The rate for miscellaneous items remained at its June rate of 3.9 percent.

> The inflation rate for food alone in MM went up to 0.9 percent in July from 0.1 percent in June. Higher rates were registered in the prices of dairy products, 3.3 percent from 2.9 percent; fish, 4.0 percent from 0.7 percent; fruits and vegetables, 2.4 percent from 0.7 percent; and meat, -0.9 percent from 3.4 percent. Lower rates were recorded in the prices of rice, -0.6 percent from 0.3 percent; corn, 0.3 percent from 1.7 percent; cereal preparations, 2.2 percent from 3.1 percent; eggs, 4.1 percent from 11.6 percent; and miscellaneous foods, -0.5 percent from 0.2 percent.

è For areas outside Metro Manila (AOMM), the rates for FBT in July decreased by 0.4 percentage point; HR, 0.2 percentage point; miscellaneous items, 0.3 percentage point; and clothing, 0.1 percentage point. The rate for FLW increased by 0.4 percentage point and for services, 0.2 percentage point.

> The inflation rate for food alone decelerated to 4.0 percent in July from 4.4 percent in June.

> The inflation rate for rice remained at its June rate of 4.2 percent. Nine regions posted lower rates in July with the biggest decrease of 1.7 percentage points in Bicol.

> Inflation rates for cereal preparations slowed down to 4.6 percent from 5.0 percent; dairy products, 3.3 percent from 3.6 percent; eggs, 8.3 percent from 10.5 percent; fruits and vegetables, -2.7 percent from -1.2 percent; and miscellaneous foods, 5.6 percent from 6.3 percent. Higher rates were noted in the prices of corn, -2.4 percent from -2.5 percent; and meat, 3.5 percent from 3.3 percent. Meanwhile, the price of fish remained at the June rate of 8.0 percent.

lBy Region, Year-on-Year

è The inflation rate for Metro Manila increased to 4.3 percent in July from 3.9 percent in June.

è Inflation in AOMM slowed down to 6.2 percent in July from 6.4 percent last month. Ten regions posted lower rates with the biggest decline of 1.1 percentage points in Cagayan Valley followed by 0.8 percentage point in Eastern Visayas. Southern Mindanao still posted the lowest inflation rate at 1.9 percent while Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) continued to have the highest rate at 9.3 percent.

lBy Commodity Group, Month-on-Month

è Month-on-month inflation rates for services and H&R correspondingly went down by 4.1 percentage points and 1.0 percentage point. FLW increased by 0.1 percentage point while inflation in FBT and clothing remained at their respective June rates of -0.1 percent and 0.2 percent. However, miscellaneous items posted zero growth in July from 0.2 percent earlier.

è The price of rice slightly increased by 0.1 percentage point. Higher month-on-month rates were recorded in ten regions. The highest rate was registered in Northern Mindanao and Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) at 1.2 percent while Western Visayas posted the lowest rate at 0.9 percent.

è A bumper harvest of corn in some regions caused the AOMM index to slow down to 0.3 percent in July from 1.9 percent in June. In MM, it also decreased but at -2.3 percent compared to -23.1 percent in June. This caused the national index to slow down to 0.2 percent in July from 1.3 percent the previous month.

è Prices of cereal preparations decreased by 0.1 percent in July which was the same rate posted a month earlier as prices of flour, bread, and biscuit continued to decrease in Metro Manila.

è Prices of dairy products in AOMM went up by 0.2 percent. In MM, the index also increased by 0.2 percent which was lower than the 0.3 percent increase in June.

è Prices of eggs in AOMM continued to decline by 0.2 percent as it did in June while in MM it posted zero growth in July. The national index declined by 0.2 percent compared to the -0.5 percent decrease in June.

è Fish prices in AOMM declined by 0.1 percent in July from an increase of 0.5 percent in June while the inflation for MM remained at 1.5 percent. This slowed price increase down to 0.2 percent for the Philippines from the June rate of 0.7 percent.

è Higher rates in most regions in July caused the AOMM index for fruits and vegetables to increase by 0.8 percent. However, the index for MM further declined by 5.0 percent from a decrease of 3.2 percent in June. This caused the national index for fruits and vegetables to decline by 0.8 percent.

è Lower prices of chicken caused the meat index to decrease by 1.9 percent in MM and 0.2 in AOMM.

è The prices of miscellaneous foods in MM slightly declined by 0.3 percent from -0.2 percent earlier as prices of black pepper, ginger, sugar, calamansi and coconut were lower during the month. However, the rate in AOMM posted a zero growth. This caused the national index to decline by 0.1 percent which was the same last month.

è The prices of meals eaten outside in the Philippines and AOMM increased at their respective June rates of 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent while MM continued to record zero growth.

è Services moved up but at slower rates of 0.6 percent in MM, 0.8 percent in AOMM and 0.7 percent in the Philippines from their respective June rates of 5.2 percent, 4.6 percent and 4.8 percent.

è Higher rental rates and increase in the prices of some construction materials like cement, gravel, sand and plywood along with increases in the salaries of carpenter, electrician and plumber caused the HR index to increase at the national level and AOMM by 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. These were lower than their respective June rates of 1.6 percent and 2.5 percent. In MM, the index still moved by 0.3 percent.

è The FLW index went up by 0.6 percent in the Philippines and 0.5 percent in MM from their corresponding June rates of 0.5 percent and 0.1 percent. This was due to the increases in the prices of kerosene and LPG along with higher currency exchange rate adjustment (CERA) and purchased power rate adjustment (PPA) for electricity. In AOMM, the index moved at the same rate of 0.6 percent due to increase in the prices of firewood and LPG along with higher charge for water and electricity consumption in many regions.

è The clothing index recorded a 0.2 percent increase in the Philippines and AOMM, which was the same rate last month. Meanwhile, the MM index also increased but at a slower rate of 0.1 percent.

è The MM index for miscellaneous items declined by 0.1 percent while it increased in AOMM by 0.1 percent resulting to a zero growth in the national level.

lBy Region, Month-on-Month

è Prices in Metro Manila went down by -0.1 percent in July from 0.8 percent in June. FBT prices were lower by 0.6 percentage point; services, 4.6 percentage points; and miscellaneous items and clothing, 0.4 percentage point. The rate for FLW increased by 0.4 percentage point while HR posted a 0.3 percent gain.

è In AOMM, prices moved up by 0.3 percent compared to a 0.9 percent increase last month. FBT posted a higher month-on-month rate of 0.1 percent in July. However, HR declined by 1.7 percentage points; services, 3.8 percentage points; and miscellaneous items, 0.1 percentage point. Inflation in FLW and clothing remained at the June rates of 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. Twelve regions posted lower rates in July with the lowest rate recorded in Caraga at -0.1 percent while the highest rate was registered in ARMM at 0.9 percent.

Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines

Page Last Updated: August 5, 1999