| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2015 | Mar 2015 | Apr 2014 | Year-to-date | |
| Philippines | ||||
| Headline | 2.2 | 2.4 | 4.1 | 2.3 |
| Core | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
| NCR | ||||
| Headline | 1.5 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 1.9 |
| AONCR | ||||
| Headline | 2.3 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 2.5 |
The country’s headline inflation further slowed down to 2.2 percent in April. It was posted at 2.4 percent in March and 4.1 percent in April 2014. Annual decreases were still registered in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; transport and communication. Annual increments also eased in food and non-alcoholic beverages; clothing and footwear; health; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation improved to 2.5 percent in April. It was pegged at 2.7 percent last month and 2.9 percent during the same month last year.
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Similarly, inflation in NCR continued to move at a slower pace at 1.5 percent in April. Last month, it was recorded at 1.9 percent and in April 2014, 3.3 percent. The downtrend was due to the annual decrease still noted in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels. Slowdowns in the annual growths were also seen in all the other commodity groups except in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco; communication; and education.
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Inflation in Areas Outside NCR (AONCR) decelerated to 2.3 percent in April. It was registered at 2.6 percent in March and 4.4 percent during the same month a year ago. This was effected by the negative annual rates noticed in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; transport; and communication. Moreover, the indices for food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; and health had lower annual movements.
| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items January 2010 - April 2015 (2006=100) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Year | |||||
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
| January | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 2.4 |
| February | 3.9 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 2.5 |
| March | 3.9 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 2.4 |
| April | 4.0 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 2.2 |
| May | 3.9 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 4.5 | |
| June | 3.6 | 5.2 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 4.4 | |
| July | 3.7 | 4.9 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 4.9 | |
| August | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 4.9 | |
| September | 3.8 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 4.4 | |
| October | 3.3 | 5.2 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 4.3 | |
| November | 3.7 | 4.7 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.7 | |
| December | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 2.7 | |
| Average | 3.8 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 4.1 | |
| Month-on-Month Inflation Rates, All Items (2006=100) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2015 | Mar 2015 | |
| Philippines | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| NCR | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| AONCR | 0.2 | -0.1 |
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Consumer prices at the national level rose 0.2 percent in April. Higher charges for electricity rates and price upticks in food items such as fish, fruits, sugar, garlic, ginger and some vegetables in many regions were noted during the month. Price increases in selected construction materials, household textiles and non-durable goods were also observed in some provinces. Moreover, upward adjustments in the salaries of carpenters, electricians and painters were recorded in selected provinces.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
(2006=100)
APRIL 2015
By Region, Year-on-Year
- Inflation in NCR further slowed down to 1.5 percent in April.
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A downward trend in the inflation in AONCR was likewise pegged at 2.3 percent in April as nine regions had lower annual rates. The lowest annual growth of 1.7 percent remained in Northern Mindanao while the highest was in Davao Region at 3.6 percent.
By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year
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At the national level, the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index declined by 0.5 percent in April; transport index, -0.2 percent; and communication index, -0.1 percent. Contributing to the downtrend were the slower annual hikes in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 3.9 percent; clothing and footwear, 2.8 percent; health, 2.3 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 1.2 percent. The other commodity groups retained their last month’s rate.
The food alone index in the Philippines further slowed to 4.0 percent in April. Last month, it was posted at 4.4 percent and 6.5 percent in April 2014.
Annual increments in all the food groups eased during the month except for the Indices of other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products; fish; vegetables; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery. Higher annual growths were registered in the indices of fish; vegetables; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery while the index for other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products retained its previous month’s rate.
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In NCR, an annual drop of 0.8 percent was noted in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels. Except for the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, communication; and education, the other commodity groups exhibited lower annual upticks. The index for communication however, moved up at a faster rate while the alcoholic beverages and tobacco and education indices retained their last month’s rates.
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The food alone index in NCR further improved as its growth settled to 3.6 percent in April. Last month, the rate was shown at 3.9 percent and in April 2014, 5.7 percent.
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Lower annual rates were seen in the corn index at 2.7 percent; other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products and meat indices, 1.7 percent; fish index, 3.4 percent; milk, cheese and egg index, 4.3 percent; and vegetable index, 4.8 percent. The rest of the food groups had higher annual add-ons.
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- In AONCR, annual declines were still observed in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and communication at -0.2 percent and transport, -0.6 percent. Moreover, the annual hike in food and non-alcoholic beverages index was lower at 4.0 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco index, 4.2 percent; clothing and footwear index, 2.7 percent; health index, 1.9 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services index, 1.5 percent. A faster annual growth was noticed in the index for furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house while those for the rest of the commodity groups remained their last month’s rate.
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The annual gain of the food alone index in AONCR further decelerated to 4.1 percent in April. It was noted at 4.5 percent last month and 6.6 percent in April 2014.
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A slower annual mark-up was registered in the rice index at 4.6 percent. Annual rates slowed in all the regions except in SOCCSKSARGEN which recorded a faster rate of 0.2 percent. The highest rate of 6.8 percent remained in Central Luzon while the lowest was in SOCCSKSARGEN at 0.2 percent.
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The annual increase in the meat index slid to 2.5 percent; milk, cheese and egg index, 3.6 percent; oils and fats index, 1.5 percent; fruit index, 11.0 percent; and food products not elsewhere classified index, 4.3 percent. All the other food groups had higher annual rates with the corn index retaining its last month’s growth of 0.7 percent.
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By Region, Month-on-Month
Prices of consumer goods inched up by 0.2 percent in NCR. The index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index in NCR went up by 0.8 percent in April. In addition, higher growths were posted in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco and communication at 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages and transport correspondingly decreased by 0.2 percent and -0.3 percent. The rest of the commodity either retained their last month’s rate or had zero growth except for the index of recreation and culture whose monthly gain decelerated to 0.1 percent.
Consumer prices in AONCR likewise moved upward by 0.2 percent in April. This can be attributed to a higher growth of 0.2 percent exhibited in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index. Meanwhile, the index for alcoholic beverages and tobacco showed a slower rate at 0.2 percent. The rest of the commodity groups either had zero growth or retained their previous month’s rate.
Twelve regions had faster annual rates with SOCCSKSARGEN having the highest annual growth at 0.6 percent. The lowest however, was in Eastern Visayas and Caraga at -0.2 percent.
Among the three big areas of the country, prices of consumer items Mindanao moved faster compared to those in Luzon and Visayas areas.
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
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Consumer prices in the Philippines generally increased by 0.2 percent in April. This was primarily brought about by the 0.5 percent growth in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index. Moreover, higher upticks were noticed in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages and recreation and culture at 0.1 percent and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house index, 0.2 percent. All the other commodity groups either retained their last month’s rates or had zero growths.
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Price hikes in selected fresh fish species, shrimps and crabs pushed up the corresponding fish index in AONCR to 1.2 percent. This was due to bigger demand for fish as consumers shifted from meat to fish in observance of the Lenten season. On the contrary, the fish index in NCR dropped by 1.0 percent as enough supplies of selected fresh fish species in the markets lowered their prices during the month.
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Lower production of ginger particularly during summer caused its prices to accelerate. Prices of selected condiments and seasonings also went up in many regions. These factors resulted to the increase in the food products not elsewhere classified index in the three areas: Philippines, 2.2 percent; NCR, 6.0 percent; and AONCR, 1.4 percent.
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The fruit index in the Philippines climbed by 0.8 percent; NCR, 1.7 percent; and AONCR, 0.6 percent as banana, pineapple and papaya were priced higher during the month. Prices of selected fruits which were out of season also went up in many regions.
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Declines in the prices of vegetables in NCR particularly eggplant, stringbeans, bitter gourd and common gourd pushed down the vegetable index in the area by 0.3 percent. On the other hand, the vegetable index in AONCR moved upward by 0.6 percent as prices of tomatoes, cabbage, carrots and chayote increased in many regions. At the national level, the group’s index rose 0.4 percent.
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Prices of sugar picked up during the month. This can be attributed to bigger demand during the summer season brought about by higher consumption of cold drinks where sugar is one of the main ingredients. Hence, the index for sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery gained 0.5 percent in NCR and 0.8 percent in AONCR and at the national level.
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Negative monthly rates continued to prevail in the rice index in the three areas: Philippines, -0.5 percent; NCR, -1.0 percent; and AONCR, -0.4 percent. The on-going harvest season of palay lowered prices of rice in the markets. Cheaper prices of glutinous rice in many provinces were also noted during the month.
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Price reductions in fresh chicken and pork contributed to the -0.5 percent change in the meat index at the national level; -0.6 percent in NCR; and -0.4 percent in AONCR. Moreover, prices of beef, selected meat products and canned and processed meat decreased in selected regions.
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Higher charges for electricity rates in many regions raised the index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels in the Philippines and AONCR at 0.5 percent and in NCR, 0.8 percent. Price add-ons in LPG, kerosene, selected constructions materials and increased salaries of carpenters, electricians and painters in selected provinces also contributed to the uptrend.
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The restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services index in the Philippines and AONCR inched up to 0.1 percent due to the increments in the prices of meals eaten outside the home in some provinces. The group’s index in NCR however, recorded a zero growth during the month.
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Upticks in the prices of household textiles and selected non-durable goods were observed in some provinces. Thus, the index for furnishing household equipment and routine maintenance of the house in AONCR and at the national level grew by 0.2 percent. In NCR, the group’s index posted a zero growth.
Notes:
- The second phase survey report from Basilan was not received as of May 4, 2015.
- CPIs and inflation rates by province and selected city are also available upon request at Philippine Statistics Authority, Economic Sector Statistics Services, Economic Indices and Indicators Division (Telephone Numbers: 716-39-35 and 715-33-47).
(Sgd.) LISA GRACE S. BERSALES, Ph.D.
National Statistician
