• Similarly, annual inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) inched up 1.1 percent in December. It was recorded at 1.0 percent last month and 1.6 percent in December 2014. The uptrend was due to faster annual increment in the transport index. The annual average inflation in the area was posted at 1.0 percent in 2015. Last year, it was 3.2 percent.

• Inflation in Areas Outside NCR (AONCR) likewise advanced to 1.5 percent in December 2015. In November, it grew by 1.1 percent and in the same period last year, 3.0 percent. The indices of six out of the 11 commodity divisions had higher annual rates during the month. The average inflation for 2015 slowed down to 1.5 percent from 4.5 percent in 2014.

• The national month-on-month growth of consumer prices moved up at a slower pace of 0.2 percent in December. Price increases of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages were noted in many regions. Higher charges in electricity rates and upward adjustments in air and ship fares were also observed in many regions during the period. These factors however, were tempered by the price decreases in food items such as rice, corn, fruits, vegetables, calamansi and ginger and the series of price rollbacks in gasoline, diesel and kerosene during the month.

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  CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
  (2006=100)
  DECEMBER 2015

By Region, Year-on-Year

• Year-on-year inflation in NCR picked up 1.1 percent in December.

• Inflation in AONCR likewise moved up 1.5 percent in December. Higher annual increments were still registered in all the regions except in Bicol Region and ARMM. The highest annual inflation of 2.6 percent was noted in Caraga while the lowest remained in Bicol Region at -0.2 percent.

• Among the regions in AONCR, the lowest annual average inflation in 2015 at 0.9 percent was seen in CALABARZON while Davao Region and ARMM had the highest annual average inflation at 2.6 percent.

By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year

• At the country level, year-on-year increases were higher in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 4.4 percent in December; health, 1.9 percent; transport, 2.2 percent; and recreation and culture, 1.1 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their last month’s rates while the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels continued to post a negative rate at -0.3 percent.

  The annual inflation in the country’s food alone index advanced by 1.8 percent in December. It was pegged at 1.7 percent in November and in December 2014, 5.7 percent.

  The annual growth in the corn index went up 0.4 percent in December, fish index, 4.2 percent; milk, cheese and egg index, 1.3 percent; oils and fats index, 0.2 percent; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery index, 4.9 percent. The rest of the food groups moved slower with the index for rice still recording annual drop at -2.6 percent.

  The annual average rate of the food alone index in the Philippines decelerated to 2.6 percent in 2015. It was 7.0 percent a year ago.

  Compared to their 2014 rates, the annual average add-ons in all the commodity groups slowed down during the year with the indices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and transport registering negative annual averages rates of 1.3 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. The communication index retained its last year’s figure of zero growth.

• In NCR, the annual gain in the transport index was higher at 4.0 percent in December. The other commodity groups either had lower annual growths or retained their last month’s rates except for the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels which continued to post a negative rate at -0.8 percent.

  • A lower annual rate of 2.1 percent was noted in the food alone index in NCR in December. Its previous month’s annual growth was 2.3 percent and in December 2014, 5.4 percent.

  • Annual decreases were observed in the indices of rice and food products not elsewhere classified at -3.9 percent and -0.1 percent, respectively. Moreover, slower annual add-ons were noticed in the corresponding indices of other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products at 0.7 percent; fruits, 4.2 percent; and vegetables, 18.3 percent. On the other hand, the rest of the food groups either registered higher annual upticks or retained their previous month’s rate.

  • The annual average growth of the food alone index in NCR eased to 2.4 percent in 2015 from 6.5 percent last year.

  • The index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded an annual average rate of -1.5 percent in 2015 from 1.1 percent growth last year. Compared from their 2014 rates, other commodity groups likewise exhibited lower annual average growths except for the indices of transport and education which had faster annual average growths of 1.5 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively.

• In AONCR, the annual adjustment in food and non-alcoholic beverages index further moved upward to 1.6 percent in December; alcoholic beverages and tobacco index, 4.9 percent; clothing and footwear index, 2.4 percent; health and transport indices, both at 1.8 percent; and recreation and culture index, 0.8 percent. Other commodity groups retained their last month’s rate with the communication index having a zero growth.

  • Movement in the food alone index in AONCR further climbed to 1.7 percent in December. Last month, the index grew by 1.6 percent and in December 2014, 5.8 percent.

  • The vegetable index showed a double-digit annual mark-up at 10.8 percent. Faster annual gain was also seen in fish index at 4.4 percent; oils and fats index, 0.2 percent; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery index, 5.4 percent.

  • The rice index however, continued its downtrend as it moved by -2.4 percent in December. Annual declines were noted in twelve regions with Bicol Region still registering the lowest growth at -10.1 percent. On the other hand, the highest rate of 2.6 percent remained in ARMM.

  • The corn index continued to record a negative rate at -0.3 percent. All the other food groups had lower annual increments with the index for milk, cheese and egg retaining its previous month’s rate of 1.5 percent.

  • The annual average rate of the food alone group moved slower at 2.7 percent in 2015 compared to 7.0 percent in 2014.

  • Compared to their 2014 figures, the annual average rates in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels decreased by 1.1 percent during the year; transport, -0.5 percent; and communication, -0.2 percent. The annual average growths for the rest of the commodity groups decelerated in 2015.

By Region, Month-on-Month

By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month

• The month-on-month adjustment in consumer prices at the national level eased to 0.2 percent in December. Last month, it went up by 0.5 percent. The heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index dropped by 0.1 percent. In addition, the monthly increment in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index decelerated to 0.8 percent; clothing and footwear and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services indices, 0.2 percent; and health and recreation and culture indices, 0.1 percent. The rest of the commodity groups either had faster monthly growths or retained their last month’s rate.

  • Adequate flow of supplies of vegetables from various production sites lowered their prices in the markets. Thus, vegetables index in the three areas decreased: Philippines, -1.6 percent; NCR, -4.8 percent; and AONCR, -0.9 percent.

  • The rice index in AONCR continued to register negative monthly rate at -0.2 percent due to enough supplies of rice in the markets. In NCR, the group’s index had a 0.6 percent gain due to higher price of NFA rice. At the national level, the index fell by 0.2 percent.

  • With ginger and calamansi being priced lower in many regions, the index of food products not elsewhere classified in AONCR contracted by 0.9 percent and in NCR, -0.5 percent. In the Philippines, the group’s index dipped by 0.8 percent.

  • Lower prices of corn in some regions pushed down its group’s index in AONCR by 0.5 percent. Likewise, the price mark-ups in corn in NCR improved as its index recorded a 2.9 percent gain compared from its 17.7 percent growth last month. At the country level, the index declined by 0.3 percent.

  • Higher demand for fish products resulted to price hikes particularly on fresh fishes, shrimps and crabs. The difficulty in catching fish due to bad weather conditions brought by typhoon “Nona” also limited the volume of fish supply in selected regions. These factors resulted to a 0.6 percent uptick in the group’s index in AONCR and 2.1 percent in NCR. The national index picked up 0.8 percent.

  • Bigger demand for fruits during the holiday season raised its group’s index in AONCR by 0.7 percent. On the other hand, the fruit index in NCR shrank by 0.1 percent due to the price reductions in orange, pineapple, mango, banana and papaya. The group’s index at the national level rose 0.5 percent.

• The general upward adjustments in air and ship fares in many regions pushed the index for transport in AONCR by 1.1 percent. On the contrary, the group’s index in NCR decreased by 0.1 percent due to the series of price rollbacks in gasoline, diesel and LPG auto gas. The national index picked up 0.9 percent.

• The index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels in AONCR registered a 0.3 percent growth in December due to higher charges in electricity rates and increased salaries for selected services for the maintenance and repair of the dwelling units in many regions. Meanwhile, the group’s index in NCR had a zero growth as higher charges for electricity rates were offsetted by the big price cuts in kerosene. At the country level, the group’s index rose 0.2 percent.

• Higher prices of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages were still noted in many regions. Thus, the index for alcoholic beverages and tobacco in AONCR went up 0.9 percent. The group’s index in NCR continued to post a zero growth during the month. At the national level, the index grew by 0.8 percent.

Notes:

1. The first and second phase survey reports for December 2015 from Lanao del Sur and Sulu were not received as of January 4, 2016.

2. CPIs and inflation rates by province and selected city are also available upon request at Philippine Statistics Authority, Economic Sector Statistics Service, Price Statistics Division (Telephone Number: 376-19-59).

(Sgd.) LISA GRACE S. BERSALES, Ph.D.
National Statistician