NOVEMBER AND OCTOBER 2012

Year-on-year headline inflation rate in the Philippines further slowed to 2.8 percent in November from 3.1 percent in October. It resulted from the deceleration in the annual growths posted in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; and transport. Inflation year ago was 4.7 percent.

Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation was pegged at 3.4 percent in November, slower compared to the 3.6 percent growth in October.

Annual inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) likewise eased to 2.6 percent in November from 2.9 percent in October. Slowdowns in the annual increments in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels; transport; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services were noted during the month.

Similarly, annual inflation in Areas Outside NCR (AONCR) slid to 2.9 percent in November from 3.3 percent in October. Lower annual growths were recorded in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; clothing and footwear; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels; transport; and education.

Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items January 2007 - November 2012 (2006=100)
Month	Year
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
January	3.8	4.6	7.1	3.9	4.0	4.0
February	2.9	5.1	7.2	3.9	4.7	2.7
March	2.6	5.8	6.7	3.9	4.9	2.6
April	2.6	7.3	5.6	4.0	4.7	3.0
May	2.7	8.2	4.3	3.9	4.9	2.9
June	2.6	9.4	3.2	3.6	5.2	2.8
July	2.9	10.2	2.2	3.8	4.9	3.2
August	2.7	10.5	1.7	4.1	4.6	3.8
September	2.9	10.1	2.3	3.8	4.7	3.6
October	2.9	9.7	2.9	3.3	5.2	3.1
November	3.1	9.1	3.5	3.7	4.7	2.8
December	3.7	7.8	4.4	3.6	4.2
Average	2.9	8.3	4.1	3.9	4.6

• Compared to October 2012, prices of consumer items in the Philippines generally inched up by 0.1 percent in November 2012 from -0.1 percent. Higher charges in electricity rates and price increments in alcoholic beverages, tobacco, clothing items, meals eaten outside the home and some items for personal care and effects in selected regions were observed during the month.

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  CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
  (2006=100)
  NOVEMBER 2012

By Region, Year-on-Year

• Inflation in NCR continued to move at a slower pace as it recorded an annual growth of 2.6 percent in November from 2.9 percent in October.

• With 12 regions registering lower annual rates, the annual inflation in AONCR further eased as it settled to 2.9 percent in November from 3.3 percent in October. The lowest annual rate was still observed in Ilocos at 0.8 percent while Central Visayas continued to post the highest rate at 7.1 percent.

By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year

• The annual increment in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index in the Philippines decelerated to 2.2 percent in November from 2.5 percent in October; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels index, 3.8 percent from 4.5 percent; and transport index, 1.3 percent from 1.7 percent. On the other hand, annual adjustment in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index was higher at 5.0 percent from 4.8 percent; health index, 3.1 percent from 3.0 percent; and communication index, 0.4 percent from 0.3 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their last month’s rate.

  The country’s annual hike in the food alone index was pegged at 2.1 percent in November. This was slower than the 2.5 percent growth in October.

  The annual rate of change in oils and fats index further decreased to -4.9 percent in November from -4.5 percent in October and in vegetables index, -5.3 percent from -0.1 percent. Slower annual increases were also seen in the indices of the following food groups: fish index, 5.9 percent from 6.0 percent; milk, cheese and egg index, 3.3 percent from 3.4 percent; fruits index, 4.9 percent from 5.2 percent; and food products not elsewhere classified index, 2.1 percent from 2.2 percent. Higher annual movements were recorded in the other food groups.

• In NCR, the annual gain in food and non-alcoholic beverages index improved to 1.6 percent in November from 1.7 percent in October; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels index, 2.5 percent from 3.4 percent; transport index, 0.4 percent from 0.8 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services index, 3.6 percent from 3.7 percent. The annual mark-ups in the rest of the commodity groups were either higher or remained at their last month’s rate.

  • The annual add-on in the food alone index in NCR further eased to 1.4 percent in November from 1.5 percent in October.

  • A negative annual rate was still noted in oils and fats index at -7.7 percent in November from -8.4 percent in October and vegetables index, -9.2 percent from -8.5 percent. In addition, annual uptick in rice index dipped to 0.7 percent from 1.3 percent; meat index, 2.9 percent from 3.4 percent; and fruits index, 2.8 percent from 3.1 percent. The rest of the food groups however posted higher annual increments or retained their October rate.

• In AONCR, the annual add-on in food and non-alcoholic beverages index moved at a slower pace of 2.4 percent in November from 2.7 percent in October; clothing and footwear index, 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels index, 4.5 percent from 4.9 percent; transport index, 1.6 percent from 2.0 percent; and education index, 4.7 percent from 4.8 percent. Meanwhile, the same last month’s rates were registered in the rest of the commodity groups with the communication index recording a higher annual growth at 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent.

  • The annual inflation for the food alone index in AONCR slowed down to 2.3 percent in November from 2.7 percent in October.

  • An annual decline was still noticed in oils and fats index at -4.1 percent in November from -3.4 percent in October and in vegetables index, -4.6 percent from 1.7 percent. A slowdown in the annual increase was also seen in fish index at 6.2 percent from 6.4 percent; milk, cheese and egg, 3.1 percent from 3.2 percent; fruits index, 5.5 percent from 5.7 percent; and food products not elsewhere classified index, 2.2 percent from 2.4 percent.

  • With seven regions having faster annual rates, the rice index in AONCR picked up 1.8 percent in November from 1.1 percent in October The biggest annual jump of 5.1 percentage points was noted in Central Luzon (-0.1 % from -5.2%).

  • The rest of the food groups had higher annual gains.

By Region, Month-on-Month

By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month

• Prices of consumer items in the Philippines moved upward by 0.1 percent in November from -0.1 percent in October. The alcoholic beverages and tobacco index rose 0.4 percent in November from 0.3 percent in October; clothing and footwear index, 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent; and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels index, 0.3 percent from -0.1 percent. From zero growth, recreation and culture index and education index also went up by 0.1 percent. The monthly gain in furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house index however decelerated to 0.1 percent from 0.2 percent. A -0.3 percent drop in the transport index was also observed during the month. The rest of the commodity groups retained their last month’s rate or had zero growth.

  • Prices of fish escalated by 0.7 percent in the Philippines; 0.9 percent in NCR; and 0.6 percent in AONCR. This was triggered by the reduced supplies of selected fish species in the markets brought about by the difficulty in catching fish that usually settle deep in the waters during moonlit nights and cold months.

  • With increased prices of selected spices, condiments and seasonings, the index for food products not elsewhere classified in the Philippines advanced by 0.8 percent, NCR, 1.6 percent; and AONCR, 0.6 percent.

  • Fresh meat such as chicken and pork were generally priced higher in many regions. Moreover, prices of canned and processed meat also went up during the month. Thus, the meat index in the Philippines and AONCR grew by 0.2 percent and NCR, 0.1 percent.

  • The milk, cheese and egg index in the Philippines gained 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent in NCR and AONCR due to the price hikes generally exhibited in fresh and processed eggs, cheese and milk and milk products.

  • The general upward adjustments of banana and pineapple and off-season fresh fruits like watermelon and mango raised the fruits index in the three areas by 1.0 percent. Price add-ons in processed and canned fruits were also noticed in some regions.

  • Supplies of fresh vegetables from different production sites were observed to be more than the consumer demand during the month. Price reductions were noticeable in chayote, bitter gourd, carrot, stringbeans, potato, cabbage, pechay and tomato. Hence, the index for vegetables went down by -2.3 percent in the Philippines, -6.0 percent in NCR and -1.6 percent in AONCR.

  • The continued price declines of cooking oil in many regions resulted to the -1.0 percent drop in the oils and fats index in the Philippines and -1.2 percent in AONCR. On the other hand, the group’s index in NCR had a zero growth as price increments in butter and butter products were offsetted by the lower prices of cooking oil.

  • Cheaper prices of sugar further pushed down the index for sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery in the Philippines by -0.9 percent and AONCR, -1.0 percent from -0.2 percent. That for NCR however rose 0.3 percent from 0.2 percent due to the price upticks in sugar, chocolate and ice cream in the area.

  • The harvest season of palay in many provinces continued to bring sufficient supplies of rice in the markets. This factor lowered prices of rice during the month. Thus, rice index in the Philippines and AONCR went down by -0.1 percent and in NCR, -0.7 percent.

• Higher charges for electricity rates pushed the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index in the Philippines by 0.3 percent; NCR, 0.5 percent; and AONCR, 0.2 percent. Contributing to the uptrend were the increments in the prices of kerosene in many regions.

• The index of restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services in the Philippines and AONCR grew by 0.2 percent. This was effected by the increased prices of meals eaten outside the home and selected items for personal care and effects in some regions. Prices of these items were however generally stable in NCR. Thus, the group’s index in the area posted a zero growth during the month.

• Price roll backs in gasoline and diesel nationwide resulted to the negative rates in the transport index in the Philippines and AONCR at -0.3 percent and in NCR, -0.4 percent.

NOTE:

1. 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