SEPTEMBER AND AUGUST 2011

• On a monthly basis, prices of consumer items generally went up by 0.2 percent in September from 0.1 percent in August due to the upticks in the prices of food items specifically vegetables, fruits, milk and milk products. The increase in prices of alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, selected construction materials and firewood in many regions also contributed to the uptrend.

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  CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
  (2006=100)
  SEPTEMBER 2011

By Region, Year-on-Year

• The annual inflation in NCR advanced to 4.2 percent in September from 3.3 percent in August.

• On the other hand, annual inflation in AONCR slowed to 5.0 percent in September from 5.1 percent in August. Ten regions registered slower inflation rates. The lowest inflation was still in CAR at 2.9 percent while highest annual rate remained in ARMM at 6.8 percent.

By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year

• At the national level, a faster rate of annual increment was noted in clothing and footwear index at 3.9 percent in September from 3.8 percent in August; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 5.7 percent from 5.1 percent; health, 3.4 percent from 3.3 percent; transport, 7.1 percent from 6.9 percent; and recreation and culture, 1.7 percent from 1.6 percent. While the education index retained its August annual rate of 5.1 percent, the rest of the commodity groups have either slower or negative rates.

  The country’s annual increase in the food alone index further eased to 5.2 percent in September from 5.3 percent in August.

  A negative annual rate was still registered in sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery index at -12.0 percent in September from -6.3 percent in August. Moreover, the rice index increased at a slower pace of 3.2 percent from 4.0 percent; fish, 7.8 percent from 8.3 percent; oils and fats, 33.3 percent from 35.8 percent; and food products not elsewhere classified, 2.9 percent from 3.8 percent.

  The other food groups posted higher annual gains.

• In NCR, the annual inflation in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index accelerated to 4.7 percent in September from 3.8 percent in August; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 4.8 percent from 3.1 percent; and transport, 7.7 percent from 7.2 percent. The annual gain in the health index was however slower at 3.2 percent from 3.3 percent while the communication index further declined to -1.0 percent from -0.9 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their corresponding August rates.

  • The annual change in the food alone index in NCR jumped to 4.9 percent in September from 4.0 percent in August.

  • A double-digit annual growth was posted in vegetables index at 17.1 percent in September from 8.7 percent in August. In addition, the annual hike in meat index was higher at 3.5 percent from 2.6 percent; fish, 6.1 percent from 4.5 percent; milk, cheese and egg, 2.0 percent from 1.9 percent; and fruits, 3.1 percent from 2.2 percent. The rest of the food groups either have slower or negative annual rates.

• In AONCR, the food and non-alcoholic beverages and tobacco index recorded a slower annual rate at 5.1 percent in September from 5.3 percent in August; alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 6.8 percent from 6.9 percent; and restaurants and miscellaneous goods and services, 3.1 percent from 3.2 percent. Moreover, a negative annual rate was still observed in communication index at -0.1 percent from -0.2 percent. While the indices for furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; transport; and education indices retained their corresponding August rates, the rest of the commodity groups recorded higher annual rates.

  • The rate for the food alone index in AONCR further improved to 5.2 percent in September from 5.5 percent in August.

  • A negative double-digit annual change was posted in sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery index at -13.4 percent in September from -7.4 percent in August.

  • The annual hike in the rice index continued to decelerate at 3.8 percent in September from 4.6 percent in August. Eleven regions have slower annual rates with the biggest decline of 3.9 percentage points observed in SOCCSKSARGEN (3.5% from 7.4%).

  • The annual increase in fish index slowed down to 8.1 percent from 8.9 percent; oils and fats, 28.9 percent from 31.8 percent; and food products, not elsewhere classified, 3.4 percent from 4.3 percent. The rest of the food groups however have higher annual rates.

By Region, Month-on-Month

By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month

• The month-on-month inflation in the Philippines went up by 0.2 percent in September from 0.1 percent in August. The heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index posted a higher rate at 0.1 percent in September from zero growth in August; clothing and footwear, 0.3 percent from 0.2 percent; and recreation and culture, 0.1 percent from zero growth. While the rate of increment in the transport index remained at 0.1 percent, the rest of the commodity groups have slower or zero growth rates.

  • Limited supplies of vegetables in the markets pushed up their prices in NCR and in the regions particularly in the Northern part of the country affected by typhoon “Mina”. Some landslides in Benguet caused difficulties in transporting vegetables from the production sites to the markets. These factors raised the vegetables index in the Philippines by 1.4 percent from -0.9 percent; NCR, 3.1 percent from -2.4 percent; and AONCR, 1.1 percent from -0.6 percent.

  • With the continuous price hikes of off-season fresh fruits particularly mango in many regions including NCR, the fruits index in the three areas went up during the month: Philippines, 2.4 percent from 1.0 percent; NCR, 3.3 percent from 0.5 percent; and AONCR, 2.2 percent from 1.1 percent.

  • The index for milk, cheese and egg in the Philippines and AONCR rose by 0.2 percent and in NCR, 0.3 percent. This was due to upward price adjustments in eggs, milk, butter and margarine.

  • The continuous price declines of sugar nationwide effected a negative monthly rate in the index for sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery in the Philippines and AONCR at -2.8 percent and in NCR, -2.3 percent.

  • The sufficient supply of chicken pushed down their prices in the NCR markets. Lower prices of pork were also noted during the month. Thus, the meat index in the area went down by -0.6 percent; AONCR, -0.1 percent and in the Philippines, -0.2 percent.

  • The declines in the prices of common spices and seasonings pushed down the index for food products not elsewhere classified in the Philippines by -1.2 percent; NCR, -1.1 percent; and AONCR, -1.3 percent.

  • The inclement weather condition and rough seas constrained fishermen to do their usual fishing trips. This resulted to limited supply of selected fish species in the markets. Hence, the fish index in NCR rose by 1.2 percent from 0.3 percent. However, the fish index in AONCR went down by -0.1 percent from 1.0 percent due to the price decreases of selected fish species in the regions not affected by typhoon “Mina”. These offsetting trends resulted to a zero growth in group’s index in the Philippines.

  • The index for rice in NCR went up by 0.4 percent during the month. On the contrary, the index of rice in AONCR and in the Philippines correspondingly decreased by -0.2 percent and -0.1 percent as ten regions posted negative monthly rates. The lowest rate of -0.7 percent was recorded in Ilocos and SOCCSKSARGEN. The start of the harvest season for palay in selected regions brought sufficient supply of rice in the markets during the month.

• The index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels in AONCR gained 0.2 percent due to higher prices of selected construction materials and firewood in selected regions. On the contrary, the group’s index in NCR dropped by -0.2 percent as lower charges for electricity rates and the general downward price movements in LPG and kerosene were observed during the month. These offsetting trends caused the national index to register a zero growth.

• With higher prices of clothing items and footwear in many regions, the index for clothing and footwear in the Philippines rose by 0.3 percent and in AONCR, 0.4 percent. Similarly, the group’s index in NCR also went up by 0.1 percent due to the increase in prices of footwear.

• The 0.1 percent uptick in the index for alcoholic beverages and tobacco in the three areas was effected by the upward price adjustments in cigarettes and alcoholic beverages in selected regions including NCR.

• The transport index in AONCR posted a zero growth during the month as mixed price trends in gasoline and diesel were observed among the regions. Meanwhile, the general price hikes in gasoline in NCR raised the transport index by 0.2 percent and at the national level by 0.1 percent.

NOTE:

1. The first and second phase survey reports from Sulu were not received as of October 5, 2011.

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

Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines

Page last updated: October 5, 2011