| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2015 | Apr 2015 | May 2014 | Year-to-date | |
| Philippines | ||||
| Headline | 1.6 | 2.2 | 4.5 | 2.2 |
| Core | 2.2 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 2.5 |
| NCR | ||||
| Headline | 0.7 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 1.5 |
| AONCR | ||||
| Headline | 1.8 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 2.4 |
The headline inflation at the national level continued to move at a slower pace of 1.6 percent in May. Last month, it was recorded at 2.2 percent and in May 2014, 4.5 percent. The slowdown was mainly brought about by the annual declines still posted in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and communication. Lower annual increments in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house also contributed to the downtrend.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation further eased to 2.2 percent in May. It was registered at 2.5 percent last month and 3.1 percent in May 2014.
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Inflation in NCR likewise further improved to 0.7 percent in May. It was pegged at 1.5 percent last month and 3.8 percent during the same month a year ago. This was primarily attributed to the annual drop recorded in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels. Moreover, lower annual growths were seen in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; health; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services.
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In Areas Outside NCR (AONCR), inflation slowed to 1.8 percent in May. Inflation settled to 2.3 percent last month and in May 2014, 4.7 percent. Negative annual rates were observed in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; transport; and communication. In addition, annual increments decelerated in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house.
| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items January 2010 - May 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 | |
| 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) | ||
|---|---|---|
| May 2015 | Apr 2015 | |
| Philippines | -0.1 | 0.2 |
| NCR | -0.3 | 0.2 |
| AONCR | 0.0 | 0.2 |
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The country’s consumer prices generally went down by 0.1 percent in May. Cheaper prices of the heavily-weighted food items such as rice, fish, egg, meat and fruits were noted during the month. Lower charges in electricity rates in many regions also added to the downtrend.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
(2006=100)
MAY 2015
By Region, Year-on-Year
- Inflation in NCR moved slowly at 0.7 percent in May.
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The same trend was also observed in the inflation in AONCR as it decelerated to 1.8 percent in May. All the regions showed lower annual growths except Northern Mindanao whose inflation remained at 1.7 percent. The lowest inflation of 1.2 percent was seen in CAR and CALABARZON while the highest remained in Davao Region at 3.3 percent.
By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year
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The housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index at the national level decreased by 1.5 percent in May and the communication index, -0.1 percent. Slower annual increments were also recorded in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 3.2 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco index, 3.7 percent; clothing and footwear index, 2.6 percent; and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house index, 2.2 percent. A faster annual growth of 0.1 percent was, however, noticed in the transport index. The rest of the commodity groups retained their last month’s rate.
A lower annual rate of 3.2 percent was registered in the country's food alone index in May. Its previous month's annual growth was 4.0 percent and in May 2014, 7.1 percent.
Slower annual gains were reflected in all the food groups except for the indices of vegetables and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery which had higher annual growths at 2.4 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.
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In NCR, the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels further declined by 2.2 percent. Moreover, the annual mark-up of food and non-alcoholic beverages index eased to 2.0 percent; health index, 3.6 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services index, 0.5 percent. The transport index, however, had a faster growth of 1.6 percent. Growth rates in the other commodity groups remained at their previous month's levels.
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The food alone index in NCR continued to move at a slower pace of 2.1 percent in May. Its annual change last month was 3.6 percent and in May 2014, 6.9 percent.
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Except for the indices of corn and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery, all the food groups had lower annual upticks. Higher annual increases were, however, correspondingly posted in the indices of corn and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery at 3.3 percent and 4.5 percent.
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- In AONCR, negative annual rates were still registered in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at -1.2 percent; transport, -0.4 percent; and communication, -0.2 percent. In addition, the food and non-alcoholic beverages index moved slower at 3.4 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco index, 4.0 percent; clothing and footwear index, 2.4 percent; and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house index, 2.3 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their last month's rates.
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Measured from a year ago, the food alone index in AONCR further improved to 3.4 percent in May. Its annual change in April was 4.1 percent and in May 2014, 7.1 percent.
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The annual growth in the rice index eased to 3.4 percent in May. Except in Cagayan Valley and ARMM whose annual add-ons were correspondingly faster at 5.6 percent and 5.5 percent, all the regions either had slower annual gains or had negative rates during the month. The lowest annual rate of -1.7 percent was in Central Visayas while the highest growth of 6.2 percent remained in Central Luzon.
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All the other food groups likewise recorded lower annual increments except for the indices of vegetables, sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery and food products not elsewhere classified which had higher annual rates. The corn index had a zero growth during the month.
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By Region, Month-on-Month
Prices of consumer items in NCR generally went down by 0.3 percent in May. The heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index decreased by 0.1 percent and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index, -1.1 percent. Similarly, a slowdown in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index was noted at 0.1 percent during the period. On the contrary, the indices of furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house and transport had corresponding higher rates at 0.1 percent and 0.4 percent. The rest of the commodity groups either retained their last month’s rate or had zero growth.
The offsetting movements among the commodity groups resulted to a zero growth in consumer prices in AONCR. The indices for transport and recreation and culture picked up by 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the indices for food and non-alcoholic beverages and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels declined by 0.1 percent while the index for furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house slowed to 0.1 percent. The rest of the commodity groups either had zero growth or retained their previous month’s rate.
Mixed month-on-month movements were seen among the regions. Higher rates were recorded in the regions of Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao and ARMM. Meanwhile, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Davao and SOCCSKSARGEN had slower rates. The other regions either had negative or zero growths. The highest month-on-month growth at 0.5 percent was in Northern Mindanao and ARMM while the lowest rate of -0.5 percent was noticed in Bicol Region.
Among the three big areas of the country, consumer prices in Luzon were generally lower than those in Visayas and Mindanao areas.
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
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At the national level, consumer prices generally moved downward by 0.1 percent in May. It resulted from the 0.1 percent reduction in the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages and -0.4 percent in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index. In addition, the monthly gain in furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house index eased to 0.1 percent. The indices for health and transport however, posted higher rates at 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. The rest of the commodity groups retained their last month’s rate or had zero growth.
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The prevalence of good weather conditions which favored fishermen in catching fish brought abundant supplies of fish in the markets. The good fishing season of selected fish species also pushed down its prices during the month. Hence, the fish index in the Philippines fell by 1.0 percent; NCR, -1.9 percent; and AONCR, -0.9 percent.
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Downward price adjustments in rice were still observed during the month. Thus, the rice index in the Philippines and AONCR had negative rates of 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. On the contrary, the rice index in NCR inched up by 0.1 percent.
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The fruit index at the national level and AONCR declined by 1.0 percent and in NCR, -0.8 percent. Stable volume of supplies of in-season fruits particularly mango which was at its peak production season pulled down its prices in many regions. Cheaper prices of pineapple, banana and papaya were also noted in many provinces.
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Good production of eggs during summer season brought big volume of supplies in NCR markets. Hence, the milk, cheese and egg index shrank by 0.4 percent in the area. In AONCR, mixed price movements of eggs and milk among the regions resulted to a zero growth in its group’s index. At the national level, the group’s index dropped by 0.1 percent.
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Lesser volume of deliveries of some vegetables in NCR markets pushed up its prices during the month. Moreover, the hot weather conditions experienced this month resulted to high spoilage of some vegetables. All these factors triggered higher prices of selected vegetables in many regions. In addition, the end of the production season of onions brought less supply in the markets. Thus, the vegetables index in the Philippines and AONCR accelerated by 1.1 percent and 1.0 percent in NCR.
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Lower supplies of calamansi in the markets due to its lean month of production raised its prices in all the regions. Likewise, prices of ginger rose due to less supply in the markets. Prices of sauces and salt were also priced higher in many provinces. All these factors contributed to the rise in the index for food products not elsewhere classified in the three areas: Philippines, 2.8 percent; NCR, 2.1 percent; and AONCR, 3.0 percent.
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The index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels in the Philippines dropped by 0.4 percent; NCR, -1.1 percent; and AONCR, -0.1 percent. This was due to lower charges for electricity rates and price cuts in LPG, kerosene and selected construction materials in many provinces.
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The general upward price adjustments in gasoline and diesel nationwide during the month caused the transport index to climb by 0.3 percent in the Philippines and AONCR and 0.4 percent in NCR.
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Increased prices of selected clothing and footwear items were noted in many provinces. Hence, the group’s index in the three areas inched up 0.1 percent.
Notes:
- The second phase survey report from Basilan was not received as of June 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
