AUGUST AND JULY 2013

The annual headline inflation at the national level further decelerated to 2.1 percent in August from 2.5 percent in July mainly due to the annual decrease in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index. This was the lowest inflation since August 2009. Contributing also to the downtrend were the slower annual increments in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; and transport. Inflation a year ago was 3.8 percent.

Excluding selected food and energy items, core annual inflation moved up at a slower pace of 1.9 percent in August from 2.3 percent in July.

The annual rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) dropped by 0.1 percent in August from 1.0 percent in July. Annual declines were recorded in food and non-alcoholic beverages index and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index. Lower annual inflation were also registered in the indices of alcoholic and beverages; clothing and footwear; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; and transport.

In Areas Outside NCR, annual inflation further eased to 2.7 percent in August from 2.9 percent in July. This can be attributed to slower annual increments in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; transport; and communication.

Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items January 2008 - August 2013 (2006=100)
Month	Year
	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
January	4.6	7.1	3.9	4.0	4.0	3.1
February	5.1	7.2	3.9	4.7	2.7	3.4
March	5.9	6.7	3.9	4.9	2.6	3.2
April	7.3	5.6	4.0	4.7	3.0	2.6
May	8.2	4.3	3.9	4.9	3.0	2.6
June	9.4	3.2	3.6	5.2	2.9	2.7
July	10.2	2.2	3.7	4.9	3.2	2.5
August	10.5	1.7	4.1	4.6	3.8	2.1
September	10.1	2.3	3.8	4.7	3.7
October	9.7	2.9	3.3	5.2	3.2
November	9.1	3.5	3.7	4.7	2.8
December	7.8	4.4	3.6	4.2	3.0
Average	8.3	4.2	3.8	4.6	3.2

• The country’s consumer prices generally went up 0.2 percent in August from 0.1 percent in July resulting from the increments in the prices of rice. Contributing to the uptrend were the increased prices of fish and fruits. Selected items for personal care and effects were also priced higher during the month.

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  CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
  (2006=100)

  AUGUST 2013

By Region, Year-on-Year

• Compared to August 2012, the all items index in NCR decreased by 0.1 percent from a growth of 1.0 percent in July.

• In AONCR, annual inflation further decelerated to 2.7 percent in August from 2.9 percent in July. Lower annual growths were observed in nine regions with CALABARZON and MIMAROPA registering the lowest rate of 1.9 percent. On the other hand, the highest rate was still noticed in Northern Mindanao at 4.5 percent.

By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year

• At the national level, an annual decrease of 0.3 percent was posted in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index in August from 0.6 percent in July. Moreover, a slower annual gain was seen in food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 1.8 percent from 2.3 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco index, 31.0 percent from 31.1 percent; clothing and footwear, 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house index, 2.4 percent from 2.9 percent; and transport index, 1.0 percent from 1.6 percent. The rest of the commodity groups have either higher annual increases or retained their previous month’s annual rate.

  The annual inflation in the food alone index in the Philippines was slower at 1.8 percent in August from 2.3 percent in July.

  An annual decline of 7.3 percent was recorded in oils and fats index in August from -7.6 percent in July; vegetables index, -2.6 percent from 4.3 percent; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery index, -4.1 percent from -2.8 percent. In addition, the annual mark-up in meat index improved to 2.0 percent from 2.1 percent; fish index, 1.4 percent from 2.6 percent; fruit index, 4.3 percent from 4.9 percent; and food products not elsewhere classified index, 2.8 percent from 3.1 percent.

  The rest of the food groups however registered higher annual hikes with the indices for corn and milk, cheese and egg retaining their respective last month’s rates of 3.6 percent and 1.7 percent.

• In NCR, annual changes in food and non-alcoholic beverages index dropped by 0.1 percent in August from 1.7 percent in July and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index, -2.8 percent from -1.1 percent. The annual increment in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index eased to 17.3 percent from 17.6 percent; clothing and footwear index, 2.0 percent from 2.5 percent; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house index, 2.3 percent from 4.0 percent; and transport index, 0.3 percent from 1.2 percent. Movements in the other commodity groups remained at their previous month’s rate.

  • The food alone index in NCR had an annual decrease of 0.3 percent in August from 1.6 percent in July.

  • A double-digit annual reduction was recorded in the vegetables index at -17.9 percent in August from -0.2 percent in July. A negative annual rate was also observed in fish index at -0.1 percent from 0.5 percent; oils and fats index, -9.2 percent from -9.4 percent; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery index, -1.0 percent from 1.2 percent. Slower annual increases were also noted in meat index at 0.9 percent from 1.8 percent and fruit index, 4.1 percent from 4.7 percent.

  • The other food groups went up at a faster pace with the milk, cheese and egg index moving its last month’s rate of 1.1 percent.

• In AONCR, a lower annual hike was noticed in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 2.2 percent in August from 2.4 percent in July; alcoholic beverages and tobacco index, 33.6 percent from 33.8 percent; clothing and footwear index, 3.2 percent from 3.3 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index, 0.8 percent from 1.4 percent; transport index, 1.1 percent from 1.7 percent; and communication index, 0.1 percent from 0.2 percent. The rest of the commodity groups either have higher annual growths or retained their July rate.

  • The annual growth in the food alone index in AONCR decelerated to 2.2 percent in August from 2.4 percent in July.

  • An annual drop of 6.8 percent was still observed in the oils and fats index in August from -7.0 percent in July and in sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery index, -4.6 percent from -3.4 percent. A slower annual increment was also noticed in the fish index at 1.6 percent from 2.9 percent; fruit index, 4.4 percent from 5.0 percent; vegetable index, 0.9 percent from 5.2 percent; and food products not elsewhere classified index, 2.4 percent from 2.7 percent.

  • On the other hand, the annual gain in the rice index further rose at 3.8 percent in August from 2.2 percent in July. Except Cagayan and Davao, all the regions registered higher annual increases. The biggest uptick of 4.4 percentage points was noted in SOCCSKSARGEN (4.8% from 0.4%).

  • The annual change in the meat index picked up 2.3 percent from 2.2 percent while corn and milk, cheese and egg indices retained their respective last month’s rates of 3.6 percent and 1.9 percent.

By Region, Month-on-Month

By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month

• The country’s consumer prices went up 0.2 percent in August from 0.1 percent in July as the index of food and non-alcoholic beverages picked up 0.6 percent from 0.4 percent. On the other hand, the monthly gain in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index eased to 0.1 percent from 0.4 percent and clothing and footwear index, 0.2 percent from 0.3 percent.; and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house and health indices, 0.1 percent from 0.2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. In addition, a 0.2 percent drop in the index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels was still noticed during the month. The rest of the commodity groups have either retained their respective last month’s rate or had zero rates.

  • Increasing prices of palay during the lean month raised the rice index in AONCR by 1.9 percent from 0.9 percent. Twelve regions recorded higher price adjustments in rice with the highest rate of 5.9 percent posted in SOCCSKSARGEN. Similarly, the rice index in NCR continued to climb at 2.7 percent from 1.7 percent and at the national level, 2.0 percent from 1.1 percent.

  • The stormy weather conditions brought about by typhoon “Maring” limited the fishing trips during the month. It resulted to lower supplies of marine fish species in NCR markets, thereby pushing up their prices. Thus, the fish index in the area advanced 1.8 percent from -0.5 percent. In AONCR, positive growths in eleven regions were tempered by the price declines in four regions. This resulted to a slower monthly uptick in the group’s index in the area at 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent. At the national level, the fish index grew 0.3 percent from 0.2 percent.

  • High priced fruits such as mango, watermelon, banana and pineapple caused the group’s index in NCR to grow by 1.2 percent from 1.1 percent. Likewise, the group’s index in AONCR and in the Philippines correspondingly advanced by 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent. These were however, slower than their respective last month’s rates of 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent.

  • The corn index in NCR jumped by 1.3 percent from 0.5 percent. On the contrary, the group’s index in AONCR and in the Philippines went down by 0.7 percent as negative rates were recorded in seven regions.

  • The vegetables index in the Philippines and AONCR declined by 0.6 percent from their corresponding last month’s rates of 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent and NCR, -0.5 percent from -1.5 percent. This was due to continuous flow of vegetables in the markets which lowered their price quotations during the month. Cheaper prices were seen in ampalaya, cabbage, squash and carrot.

  • The oils and fats index in NCR decreased by 2.1 percent and at the national level, -0.4 percent. This was attributed to the continuous downward adjustments in the prices of cooking oil. In AONCR, the mixed price movements of cooking oil observed among the regions resulted to a zero growth in its oils and fats index.

• Price mark-ups in meals eaten outside the home in selected regions were noted during the month. Selected items for personal care and effects were also priced higher in some regions. These factors resulted to a 0.2 percent growth in the index for restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services in the Philippines and AONCR. In NCR, the group’s index had a zero growth.

• The transport index in NCR had a zero growth as the general upward price adjustments in diesel and LPG auto gas did not affect the overall movement of the group’s index. Likewise, the group’s index in AONCR registered a zero growth as price increments in gasoline and diesel in most of the regions were tempered by the reductions in airplane fares in selected provinces. In the Philippines, the group’s index had a zero growth.

• Downward adjustments in the charges for electricity rates mainly effected the declines in the indices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels in the three areas: Philippines, -0.2 percent; NCR, -0.5 percent; and AONCR, -0.1 percent.

NOTES:

CPIs and inflation rates by province and selected city are also available upon request at NSO, Industry and Trade Statistics Department, Economic and Indicators Division (Telephone Numbers: 716-39-35 and 715-33-47).

(Sgd.) CARMELITA N. ERICTA
Administrator