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Release Date :
Reference Number :
2019-098

FEBRUARY 2019

YEAR-ON-YEAR

Philippines

2012 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries

The country’s year-on-year inflation for the bottom 30% income households decelerated further to 5.0 percent in February 2019. Inflation rates were higher in January 2019 at 5.9 percent and in February 2018 at 5.4 percent. This was primarily due to the slowdown in the inflation of the heavily-weighted food, beverages, and tobacco (FBT) index at 5.6 percent.

Annual increments were also slower in the indices of clothing at 2.9 percent; housing and repairs (H&R), 4.3 percent; and fuel, light and water (FLW), 2.7 percent. Meanwhile, the indices of services and miscellaneous retained their corresponding previous month’s annual rates of 3.5 percent and 2.4 percent (see Tables 3 and 4).

The inflation of the country’s food index eased further to 5.0 percent in February 2019. Its annual rates were higher at 5.8 percent in the previous month and 5.3 percent in the same month of the previous year (see Tables 5 and 7).

All the food groups registered slower annual gains in February 2019, with the index of corn still exhibiting a negative annual rate of 2.3 percent (see Table 5).

Year-on-Year Inflation Rates of the CPI for Bottom 30% Income Households in the
Philippines, All Items
January 2015 – February 2019
(2000=100)

Month

Year

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
January 3.8 1.0 2.4 4.7 5.9
February 2.9 1.0 3.0 5.4 5.0
March 2.6 1.2 3.0 5.8
April 2.5 1.0 2.9 6.3
May 2.1 1.1 2.6 6.4
June 1.5 1.4 2.6 6.7
July 0.8 1.3 2.7 7.6
August 0.4 1.3 3.0 8.3
September 0.1 1.6 3.3 9.5
October 0.4 1.7 3.4 9.5
November 0.9 2.0 3.4 8.3
December 1.1 2.1 3.7 7.2
Average 1.6 1.4 3.0 7.2

National Capital Region (NCR)

Likewise, annual inflation in NCR eased further to 2.9 percent in February 2019. In the previous month, inflation settled to 4.0 percent, while in February 2018, it was posted at 5.7 percent. Annual mark-ups in the indices of FBT were slower at 2.6 percent in February 2019; FLW, 5.4 percent; and miscellaneous, 2.5 percent.

On the other hand, the annual rate of H&R index was higher at 0.01 percent. The indices of clothing and services retained their previous month’s annual rates of 1.7 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. (see Tables 3 and 4).

Relative to its annual inflation in the previous month, the annual uptick of food index in NCR was slower at 2.0 percent during the month. In January 2019, inflation of food index was noticed at 3.2 percent, while in February 2018, it was noted at 5.1 percent (see Tables 5 and 7).

Annual declines were observed in the indices of rice at 3.9 percent; corn, 10.7 percent; and fruits and vegetables, 2.2 percent. Moreover, slower annual gains were recorded in the indices of fish at 5.9 percent and miscellaneous foods at 3.9 percent.

The rest of the food groups either registered higher annual rates or retained their previous month’s annual growths (see Table 5).

Areas Outside NCR (AONCR)

Inflation in AONCR for the bottom 30% income households was still on a downtrend as it recorded a slower annual rate of 5.0 percent in February 2019. In the previous month, its annual inflation was noted at 5.9 percent, while in the same month of the previous year, it was 5.4 percent.

Annual mark-ups decelerated in the indices of all the commodity groups, except for the indices of services and miscellaneous, which retained their previous month’s annual rates of 3.5 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively (see Tables 3 and 4).

All the regions had slower annual inflation, except in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which registered a higher annual rate of 2.8 percent in February 2019. The lowest inflation of 2.1 percent was noticed in Region X (Northern Mindanao), while the highest annual rate of 11.4 percent remained in MIMAROPA Region (see Table 4).

The food index in AONCR exhibited a lower annual uptick of 5.1 percent during the month. Its annual rate in the previous month and in February 2018 were correspondingly higher at 5.8 percent and 5.3 percent (see Tables 5 and 7).

Except corn and fish, all the food groups had lower annual inflation in February 2019. An annual decrease of 2.3 percent was posted in the corn index, while the same annual rate in the previous month at 8.7 percent was seen in fish index (see Table 5).

Note:

Monthly CPIs for the bottom 30% income households by province and selected cities are also available upon request at PSA, Price Statistics Division (Telephone Number: (02) 376-1959)

See more at the Consumer Price Index for Bottom 30% Income Households Main page.

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