• The year-on-year inflation for the bottom 30% income households in the Philippines picked up 6.5 percent in the second quarter of 2014. It was recorded at 5.7 percent in the first quarter and 3.1 percent during the same period last year. Faster annual mark-ups in the heavily-weighted food, beverage and tobacco (FBT) index and in the clothing index brought about the uptrend.

  • Similarly, inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) accelerated to 6.1 percent in the second quarter. Annual inflation in the previous quarter was at 4.6 percent and 1.9 percent in second quarter of 2013. Except in clothing index, higher annual increments were observed in all the commodity groups.

  • Annual inflation in Areas Outside the National Capital Region (AONCR) likewise went up 6.5 percent in the second quarter of 2014. Inflation in the first quarter was pegged at 5.7 percent and 3.0 percent during the same quarter a year ago. Faster annual growths were posted in FBT and clothing indices.

• The country’s quarter-to-quarter inflation for the bottom 30% income households slowed down to 1.3 percent in the second quarter. It was registered at 1.9 percent in the previous quarter. The tuition fee hikes during the opening of classes in June along with the increased prices in rice, meat, ginger, garlic, and selected items for household operation and personal effects in many regions were tempered by the price reductions in selected food items such as fruits, vegetables, eggs and fish and the price rollbacks in LPG and kerosene during the quarter.

Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items

First Quarter 2007 - Second Quarter 2014

• By Region, Year-on-Year
  

• Annual inflation in NCR jumped up to 6.1 percent in the second quarter.

• Inflation in AONCR advanced to 6.5 percent during the second quarter. Fifteen regions posted higher annual upticks with Eastern Visayas still registering a double-digit rate and the highest at 10.3 percent. Meanwhile, ARMM recorded the lowest rate at 4.1 percent.

• By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year

  At the national level, annual increment in the heavily-weighted FBT index leaped by 7.8 percent and the clothing index, 2.3 percent. Annual add-ons in the other commodity groups were slower with miscellaneous index retaining its previous quarter’s rate of 1.7 percent.

  The country’s food alone index rose 8.0 percent during the second quarter of 2014.

  Higher annual upticks were noted in rice index at 14.1 percent; corn index, 7.0 percent; dairy products index, 2.2 percent; fish index, 5.0 percent; meat index, 4.5 percent; and miscellaneous foods index, 6.1 percent. On the other hand, the annual gain in cereal preparations index eased to 2.5 percent; eggs index, 2.4 percent; and fruits and vegetables index, 6.5 percent.
  

  • In NCR, the annual adjustment in the heavily-weighted FBT index climbed by 7.4 percent. Moreover, the housing and repair (H&R) index inched up 0.9 percent; fuel, light and water (FLW) index, 4.4 percent; services index, 1.1 percent and miscellaneous index, 2.7 percent. That for the clothing index remained at 1.3 percent.

    The annual change in the food alone index in NCR picked up 7.5 percent.

    A double-digit annual growth was seen in the rice index at 21.1 percent. In addition, higher annual increases were observed in cereal preparations index at 3.4 percent; dairy products index, 4.0 percent; eggs index, 2.6 percent; fish index, 6.5 percent; meat index, 5.2 percent; and miscellaneous foods index, 4.9 percent. The corn and fruits and vegetables indices, however, posted slower annual mark-ups at 4.0 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

  • In AONCR, a higher annual gain was seen in the FBT index at 7.8 percent and in clothing index, 2.3 percent. The rest of the commodity groups went up at a slower pace except the miscellaneous index which moved at its previous quarter’s rate of 1.6 percent.

    The annual inflation in the food alone index in AONCR grew 8.0 percent.

    A double-digit annual increment of 14.0 percent was seen in the rice index. All the regions had higher annual rates with Bicol Region recording the highest annual uptick of 19.5 percent.

    A higher annual growth was noted in corn index at 7.0 percent; dairy products index, 2.2 percent; fish index, 5.0 percent; meat index, 4.5 percent; and miscellaneous foods index, 6.1 percent. Meanwhile, the annual add-on in cereal preparations index slowed down to 2.5 percent; eggs index, 2.4 percent; and fruits and vegetables index, 6.5 percent.

• By Region, Quarter-to-Quarter

  Compared to a quarter ago level, prices of items for this particular group of consumers in NCR advanced 1.3 percent in the second quarter. It primarily resulted from the 1.8 percent growth in the heavily-weighted FBT index. Quarterly adjustment in the H&R index at 0.8 percent also contributed to the uptrend. On the contrary, the rest of the commodity groups had lower quarterly gains while the FLW index dropped by 0.5 percent. The rest of the commodity groups had lower quarterly hike.

  Upward price adjustment in AONCR improved to 1.3 percent in the second quarter. This was due to the 0.6 percent decrease in the FLW index. In addition, slower price adjustments in the heavily- weighted FBT index at 1.7 percent and in H&R index at 0.7 percent were also noted during the quarter.

  Nine regions registered slower quarterly mark-ups. The lowest quarterly rate of 0.7 percent was in Cagayan Valley and Caraga.

  Among the three big areas of the country, price additions in consumer items were generally lower in Luzon compared to Visayas and Mindanao.

• By Commodity Group, Quarter-to-Quarter

  On a quarterly basis, price increment at the national level eased to 1.3 percent in the second quarter of 2014. This was brought about by a 0.6 percent drop in the FLW index during the quarter. Contributing also to the downtrend was the slower quarterly growth in FBT index at 1.7 percent and in H&R index at 0.7 percent. The rest of the commodity groups had faster quarterly growths except in clothing index whose rate remained at 0.7 percent.

  The fruit and vegetable index declined in three areas: 1.8 percent in the Philippines; 5.2 percent in NCR; and 1.7 percent in AONCR. Prices of potatoes, onions and tomatoes generally went down during the quarter.

  The quarterly movement in the eggs index in the Philippines and AONCR dropped 0.3 percent as seven regions registered negative growths. In NCR, the group’s index inched up 0.1 percent.

  The prevalence of good weather conditions favored fishermen in their activity. This brought abundant supplies of selected fish species, shells and shrimps in the markets. Thus, the fish index in NCR dropped by 0.2 percent. Despite price declines in fresh fish in many regions, the group’s index in AONCR still picked up 0.2 percent as prices of some sea foods and processed fish generally went up during the quarter. At the national level, the fish index inched up 0.2 percent.

  The corn index in the Philippines and AONCR gained 3.0 percent in the second quarter. On the other hand, the group’s index in NCR went down by 3.5 percent in the second quarter of 2014.

  The dairy products index in the Philippines and AONCR grew 0.9 percent and in NCR, 3.1 percent. This was due to higher prices of milk and milk products.

  Pork, beef and uncanned preserved meat were generally priced higher in many regions. In NCR, prices of pork and chicken also went up. Thus, the meat index in the Philippines advanced 2.0 percent; AONCR, 1.9 percent; and NCR, 3.9 percent.

  Upsurge in the prices of ginger and garlic primarily raised the miscellaneous foods indix in the Philippines and AONCR by 3.3 percent and in NCR, 3.4 percent.
  

• Price rollbacks in LPG and kerosene pushed down the FLW index in AONCR and in the Philippines by 0.6 percent and in NCR, -0.5 percent.

• The H&R index moved up by 0.7 percent in the Philippines and AONCR, and in NCR, 0.8 percent. Price increments in some construction materials were seen in selected provinces.

• Higher demand for footwear and wearing apparel during the opening of classes effected a 0.7 percent growth in the clothing index in the Philippines and AONCR and 0.3 percent in NCR.

• Tuition fee hikes during the opening of classes in June primarily contributed to the 0.5 percent growth of the services index in AONCR and 0.3 percent in NCR. Upward price adjustments in selected school supplies were also observed in most of the regions. At the national level, the group’s index went up 0.5 percent.

• With upward adjustment in the prices of selected items for household operation and personal effects, the miscellaneous indices in the Philippines and AONCR rose 0.5 percent and in NCR, 0.7 percent.

Note:

1. The first and second survey reports from Basilan for April, May and June 2014 were not received as of July 30, 2014.

2. Monthly CPIs for the bottom 30% income households by province and selected cities 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).