| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2015 | Jul 2015 | Aug 2014 | Year-to-date | |
| Philippines | ||||
| Headline | 0.6 | 0.8 | 4.9 | 1.7 |
| Core | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 2.2 |
| NCR | ||||
| Headline | 0.2 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 1.2 |
| AONCR | ||||
| Headline | 0.8 | 0.8 | 5.0 | 1.8 |
The headline inflation at the national level further slowed down to 0.6 percent in August. It was posted at 0.8 percent in July and 4.9 percent in August 2014. Annual decreases were still registered in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and transport. Annual increments also decelerated in all the other commodity groups except in the indices of communication; education; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation improved to 1.6 percent in August. It was recorded at 1.9 percent in July and 3.4 percent in August 2014.
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Likewise, inflation in NCR moved at a slower pace at 0.2 percent in August. Last month, it was pegged at 0.8 percent and in August 2014, 4.4 percent. The downtrend was due to the annual decrease noted in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels. Slowdowns in the annual growths were also seen in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; clothing and footwear; transport; recreation and culture; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services.
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Inflation in Areas Outside NCR (AONCR) was pegged at 0.8 percent in August. It was the same rate observed last month. In August 2014, the rate was 5.0 percent. Mixed movements in the annual growths among the commodity groups were posted during the month. Higher annual rates were noticed in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages and education while lower annual growths were noted in the indices of clothing and footwear; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; health; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services. The rest of the commodity groups either had annual declines or retained their previous month’s rates.
| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items January 2010 - August 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 | 1.6 |
| June | 3.6 | 5.2 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 1.2 |
| July | 3.7 | 4.9 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 0.8 |
| August | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 4.9 | 0.6 |
| 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) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2015 | Jul 2015 | |
| Philippines | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| NCR | -0.1 | 0.5 |
| AONCR | 0.1 | 0.1 |
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For three consecutive months now, prices of consumer goods in the country went up by 0.1 percent. Price increases were seen in fruits and vegetables. Prices of corn, flour, bread, pasta, and other bakery products, meat, milk and egg also went up. Lower prices of petroleum products such as LPG, kerosene, gasoline and diesel were, however, noted nationwide. Downward adjustments in the charges for electricity rates were also recorded in many regions including NCR.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
(2006=100)
AUGUST 2015
By Region, Year-on-Year
- Inflation in NCR eased to 0.2 percent in August.
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Inflation in AONCR however, remained at 0.8 percent in August. Three regions had higher annual mark-ups while the rest of the regions either had slower annual growths or negative rates. The highest annual growth of 2.4 percent was posted in Davao Region. Movement of prices was lowest in CALABARZON, Bicol and SOCCSKSARGEN at -0.2 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 1.7 percent and transport index, -0.6 percent in August. Moreover, slower annual hikes were observed in all the other commodity groups except in the indices of communication; education; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services. The education index increased faster at 3.6 percent while the restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services index retained its last month’s rate. The communication index continued to post a zero growth.
The food alone index in the Philippines further slowed to 1.1 percent in August. Last month, it was pegged at 1.3 percent and in August 2014, 8.7 percent.
Annual decreases were noted in the indices of rice, corn and oils and fats. In addition, all the other food groups had lower annual rates except the index of vegetable which had a higher annual growth of 2.0 percent.
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In NCR, the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels further dropped by 2.3 percent. Lower annual upticks were also registered in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; clothing and footwear; transport; recreation and culture; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services. The index for alcoholic beverages and tobacco however, moved up at a faster pace while the rest of the commodity groups retained their last month’s rates.
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The food alone index in NCR further improved as its growth settled to 0.5 percent in August. Last month, the rate was computed at 1.6 percent and in August 2014, 9.0 percent.
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Annual declines were shown in the rice index at -1.4 percent; meat index, -0.2 percent; fish index, -2.8 percent; and food products not elsewhere classified index, -1.1 percent. Slower annual add-ons were also noticed in other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products index at 1.4 percent; milk, cheese and egg index, 0.3 percent; fruit index, 3.9 percent; and vegetable index, 8.7 percent. The rest of the food groups either had higher annual growths or retained their previous month’s rate.
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- In AONCR, the indices continued to drop with the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at -1.4 percent; transport, -1.0 percent; and communication, -0.1 percent. Moreover, the annual hike in the clothing and footwear index was lower at 2.1 percent; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house index, 2.0 percent; health index, 1.6 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services index, 1.5 percent. Faster annual growths were however, noted in the indices for food and non-alcoholic beverages at 1.3 percent and education, 3.1 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their last month’s rate.
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The food alone index in AONCR advanced by 1.3 percent in August. The growth was 1.2 percent in July 2015 and 8.7 percent during the same month in 2014.
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Higher annual mark-ups were registered in the indices of vegetable at 0.8 percent and food products not elsewhere classified, 5.5 percent.
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The rice index fell by 0.8 percent. Except in Eastern Visayas whose annual growth remained at 0.5 percent, all the regions continued to have either negative annual rates or slower annual gains. The lowest rate remained in SOCCSKSARGEN at -7.7 percent while the highest was in Central Luzon and ARMM at 2.4 percent.
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The corn index posted an annual decrease of 0.9 percent and oils and fats, -0.6 percent. The rest of the food groups either had lower annual growths or retained their last month’s rate.
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By Region, Month-on-Month
Consumer prices in NCR generally declined by 0.1 percent in August. Last month, it grew by 0.5 percent. Downward adjustments were observed in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at -0.6 percent and transport, -0.5 percent. Moreover, upticks in food and non-alcoholic beverages; clothing and footwear; and health slackened. The rest of the commodity groups either retained their last month’s rate or had zero growth.
For three consecutive months now, prices of consumer items in AONCR moved at 0.1 percent. A higher growth of 0.5 percent was seen in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index. Meanwhile, slowdowns were recorded in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services. In addition, the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and transport dropped by 0.2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. The rest of the commodity groups either retained their previous month’s rate or had a zero growth.
Higher rates were registered in five regions with Ilocos Region having the highest month-on-month growth of 0.7 percent. On the other hand, the lowest rate of -0.4 percent was noted in Caraga.
Prices of consumer items in Luzon generally gained 0.1 percent. Those for Mindanao however, dropped by 0.1 percent while prices in general remained stable in Visayas.
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
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Consumer prices in the Philippines generally increased by 0.1 percent in August. This was primarily brought about by the 0.4 percent growth posted in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index. Movements in the indices of furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; recreation and culture; and education remained steady at 0.1 percent. The rest of the commodity groups either had slower increments or negative rates except for the indices of health and communication which had zero growths.
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Typhoon “Ineng” devastated several areas in Northern Luzon, particularly Baguio City in Benguet. The difficulty in transporting vegetables from Benguet farms as heavy rains and strong winds toppled trees and electric posts along the highways lowered the volume of vegetable supply in the markets. This factor triggered higher prices of vegetables particularly cabbage, chayote, stringbeans and carrot in several markets in Luzon areas. Moreover, highland vegetables such as potato and eggplant which were prone to rotting during the rainy season were also priced higher during the month. Hence, the vegetable index in NCR picked up by 1.8 percent and in AONCR, 4.8 percent. At the national level, the index jumped by 4.3 percent.
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Higher prices of fruits such as mango, pineapple and banana raised the group’s index in NCR by 1.5 percent in August and 1.6 percent in AONCR and in the Philippines.
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Price mark-ups in chicken and pork in many regions contributed to the 0.7 percent growth in the meat index in NCR and 0.1 percent in AONCR. Moreover, prices of beef, canned and processed meat went up in selected regions. At the national level, the meat index rose by 0.3 percent.
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Upward adjustments in the prices of milk and eggs resulted to a 0.1 percent gain in the index for milk, cheese and egg in AONCR. In NCR, the index for milk, cheese and egg had a zero growth while the national index moved by 0.1 percent.
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The food products not elsewhere classified index in the Philippines fell by 1.0 percent; NCR, -2.0 percent; and AONCR, -0.7 percent. This was brought about by enough supplies of calamansi and ginger in the markets that eventually lowered their prices during the month.
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The index for restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services in AONCR inched up 0.1 percent due to higher prices of selected items for personal care. The group’s index in NCR recorded a zero growth during the month. The aggregate index at the national level posted a growth of 0.1 percent.
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The 0.1 percent add-on in the index for clothing and footwear in the three areas resulted from the upward price adjustments in selected clothing and footwear items.
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LPG and kerosene were generally priced lower nationwide. Lower charges in electricity rates were also noticed in regions. These factors pushed down the index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels in the three areas: Philippines, -0.4 percent; NCR, -0.6 percent; and AONCR, -0.2 percent.
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A series of price roll backs in gasoline and diesel was observed nationwide during the month. Cheaper air and ship fares were also noted in many provinces. Thus, the transport index in the three areas declined by 0.5 percent.
Notes:
- The second phase survey reports from Ifugao and Negros Oriental for August 2015 were not received as of September 3, 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
