| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2015 | Aug 2015 | Sep 2014 | Year-to-date | |
| Philippines | ||||
| Headline | 0.4 | 0.6 | 4.4 | 1.6 |
| Core | 1.4 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 2.1 |
| NCR | ||||
| Headline | 0.1 | 0.2 | 3.5 | 1.1 |
| AONCR | ||||
| Headline | 0.4 | 0.8 | 4.7 | 1.7 |
The Philippines’ annual headline inflation further slowed down to 0.4 percent in September. It was 0.6 percent last month and 4.4 percent during the same month a year ago. The downtrend was primarily due to the annual declines in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and transport. Moreover, slower annual increases were seen in the indices of all the other commodity groups except the indices of communication, recreation and culture, education and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation continued to move at a slower pace as it settled to 1.4 percent in September. It was registered at 1.6 percent last month and 3.4 percent in September 2014.
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Inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) likewise eased to 0.1 percent in September as the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels declined. Inflation was 0.2 percent in August 2015 and 3.5 percent in September 2014. Slower annual increases were also observed in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; and health.
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Following the same trend, inflation in Areas Outside NCR (AONCR) further improved to 0.4 percent in September. Last month, it was pegged at 0.8 percent and in September 2014, 4.7 percent. Negative annual rates were noticed in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; transport; and communication. In addition, all the other commodity groups posted lower annual growths except the indices of furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house and education.
| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items January 2010 - September 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 | 0.4 |
| 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) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2015 | Aug 2015 | |
| Philippines | -0.2 | 0.1 |
| NCR | -0.4 | -0.1 |
| AONCR | -0.1 | 0.1 |
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The country’s consumer prices generally decreased by 0.2 percent in September. Cheaper prices of the heavily-weighted food items such as vegetables, corn, fish, cooking oil, vegetables, calamansi and ginger were noted during the month. General downward price adjustments in kerosene and LPG were also observed in many regions. Moreover, charges in the electricity rates were still lower in NCR and in many provinces.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
(2006=100)
SEPTEMBER 2015
By Region, Year-on-Year
- Inflation in NCR further moved downward to 0.1 percent in September.
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The negative annual rates in CALABARZON and Bicol Region and the slower annual growths posted in 11 regions resulted to a lower inflation in AONCR at 0.4 percent in September. The lowest annual rate of -0.8 percent was noted in Bicol Region while the highest annual growth of 2.1 percent was still seen in ARMM.
By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year
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The country’s year-on-year adjustment in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index dropped by 2.2 percent in September and transport index, -0.3 percent. The other commodity groups either had lower annual growths or retained their last month’s rates.
The annual gain in the food alone index in the Philippines further eased to 0.7 percent in September. Last month, its annual rate was 1.1 percent and during the same month a year ago, 7.8 percent.
Annual declines were noticed in the indices of rice, corn, and oils and fats.
In addition, slower annual increases were observed in the indices of most of the food groups. However, faster annual rates were shown in the indices of meat and vegetables at 0.4 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, while that for other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery product index remained at 1.0 percent.
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In NCR, the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels fell by 2.3 percent in September. Slowdowns were also recorded in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 0.5 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 2.0 percent; clothing and footwear, 2.7 percent; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, 0.5 percent; and health, 2.4 percent. The rest of the commodity groups either had faster annual mark-ups or retained their last month’s rates.
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The food alone index in NCR had a 0.4 percent annual growth in September. It was pegged at 0.5 percent last month and 7.6 percent in September 2014.
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Negative annual adjustments were observed in the indices of rice, fish and food products not elsewhere classified. Moreover, lower annual increments were seen in the indices of other cereals, flour, cereal preparations, bread, pasta and other bakery products; milk, cheese and egg; oils and fats; and vegetables. The rest of the food groups, however, posted higher annual rates.
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- In AONCR, the indices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels dipped by 2.1 percent in September; transport, -0.8 percent; and communication, -0.1 percent. Those for the rest of the commodity groups were either at slower rates or remained at their last month’s rates.
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The annual growth of the food alone index in AONCR moved up at a slower pace of 0.8 percent in September. The rate settled at 1.3 percent a month ago and 7.8 percent in September 2014.
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The rice index further declined by 1.6 percent in September as all the regions either had negative or lower annual rates except in Eastern Visayas. The lowest rate of -5.7 percent was noted in Bicol Region while the highest annual growth of 2.3 percent remained in ARMM.
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Negative rates were likewise noticed in the indices of corn and oils and fats. The rest of the food groups had slower pace of increases except the vegetable index which had a faster annual rate of 1.6 percent.
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By Region, Month-on-Month
Prices in NCR contracted by 0.4 percent in September. It went down by 0.1 percent in August. The heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index decreased by 0.3 percent and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index, -1.1 percent. All the other commodity groups had zero growth except in transport and recreation and culture indices which moved at faster rates.
Prices of consumer items in AONCR likewise fell by 0.1 percent in September. Last month, it had a 0.1 percent growth. The indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels shrank by 0.2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. A higher growth of 0.1 percent was however, noted in the indices of health and transport. The other commodity groups either retained their last month’s rate or had a zero growth.
Eight regions recorded negative rates. Moreover, slower monthly increments were seen in CAR and MIMAROPA while four regions had zero growths. Meanwhile, a 0.1 percent increase was noticed in Western Visayas and ARMM, the highest rate among the regions. Davao Region had the lowest month-on month rate of -0.7 percent.
Among the three big areas of the country, prices of consumer items generally moved downward in Luzon and Mindanao compared to Visayas areas.
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
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Prices of consumer goods generally dropped by 0.2 percent in September after it gained 0.1 percent last month. This was mainly effected by the downward adjustments in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at -0.2 percent and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, -0.7 percent. On the other hand, uptrends were observed in the indices of health and transport. The rest of the commodity groups either moved at their last month’s rate or had zero growth.
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Enough supplies of vegetables in the markets caused their prices to decrease during the month. Among the vegetables that were sold at cheaper prices were sayote, bitter gourd, cabbage, eggplant and stringbeans. This factor pushed down the vegetables index in the three areas: Philippines, -1.9 percent; NCR, -4.3 percent; and AONCR, -1.4 percent.
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Reductions in the prices of many fish species due to the favorable weather conditions conducive for fishing activities brought sufficient supply of fish in most of the regions during the month. This effected a 0.6 percent drop in its group’s index in AONCR. Likewise, fish species particularly bisugo, sapsap and selected sea foods such as crabs, squid and shrimps were generally priced lower in NCR. Thus, the fish index in the area plunged by 0.4 percent. In the Philippines, the group’s index dipped by 0.6 percent.
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A 0.7 percent decline in the food products not elsewhere classified index in NCR and -1.2 percent in AONCR was due to lower prices of selected condiments and spices such as calamansi and ginger in many regions. This was brought about by their abundant supplies in the markets. At the national level, the index moved downward by 1.1 percent.
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The corn index in AONCR fell by 0.5 percent as six regions had negative rates in September. In NCR, the increment in the corn index was slower at 1.1 percent. The group’s national index followed that of AONCR’s trend as its index also dropped by 0.4 percent.
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The dwindling prices of cooking oil in selected regions pulled down the oils and fats index in the three areas during the month: Philippines and AONCR, -0.1 percent and NCR, -0.2 percent.
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Higher prices of NFA and commercial rice in NCR and in selected provinces caused a 0.1 percent growth in its group’s index in the three areas.
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The index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels in NCR and in AONCR went down by 1.1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. This was attributed to lower charges in the electricity rates and price rollbacks in LPG and kerosene in many regions. At the national level, the group’s index declined by 0.7 percent.
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Increased air fares during the month primarily raised the transport index in NCR at 0.4 percent and in AONCR, 0.1 percent. Upticks in the prices of gasoline and diesel in some provinces also contributed to the uptrend. The national index rose 0.2 percent.
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Higher admission fee for cinema in NCR pushed up the group’s index for recreation and culture by 0.5 percent. On the other hand, the group’s index in AONCR had a zero growth as prices of the commodities under this group generally did not move during the month. At the country’s level, the group’s index inched up 0.1 percent.
Notes:
- The second phase survey report for September 2015 from Negros Oriental was not received as of October 5, 2015.
- 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
