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Release Date :
Reference Number :
2019-305

SEPTEMBER 2019

YEAR-ON-YEAR

Philippines

Bottom 30%

The annual inflation for the bottom 30% income households at the national level continued to move at a slower rate of 0.9 percent in September 2019. This is the lowest inflation registered for this income group since December 2015.

In comparison, inflation was higher in August 2019 at 2.3 percent and in September 2018, 9.5 percent.

The downtrend was primarily due to the 0.4 percent annual decline in fuel, light and water (FLW) index. Contributing also to the downtrend were the slower annual increases recorded in the indices of food, beverages and tobacco (FBT) at 0.7 percent; housing and repairs (H&R), 3.5 percent; services, 3.0 percent; and miscellaneous, 2.2 percent. Meanwhile, clothing index retained its previous month’s annual rate of 2.8 percent (see Tables 3 and 4).

The country’s food index posted an annual drop of 0.3 percent in September 2019. Food inflation in August 2019 was observed at 1.8 percent, and in September 2018, 9.9 percent (see Tables 5 and 7).

Annual decreases were still noted in the indices of rice at 6.2 percent; and corn, 0.9 percent. All the other food groups except eggs, exhibited slower annual increments during the month. The annual gain of the index of eggs was higher at 4.3 percent in September 2019 (see Table 5).

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

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 4.6
April 2.5 1.0 2.9 6.3 4.3
May 2.1 1.1 2.6 6.4 4.6
June 1.5 1.4 2.6 6.7 4.0
July 0.8 1.3 2.7 7.6 3.1
August 0.4 1.3 3.0 8.3 2.3
September 0.1 1.6 3.3 9.5 0.9
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)

In NCR, the annual rate of consumer prices for the bottom 30% income households further declined by 0.6 percent in September 2019. Annual rate in the area recorded a decline of 0.1 percent in August 2019, and 8.1 percent in September 2018.

Annual declines were observed in the indices of FBT at 0.4 percent; and FLW, 4.7 percent. Moreover, the annual rate of miscellaneous index slowed down to 1.7 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their previous month’s annual rates (see Tables 3 and 4).

Areas Outside NCR (AONCR)

Inflation for the bottom 30% income households in AONCR slowed down further to 0.9 percent in September 2019. Inflation was higher at 2.4 percent in August 2019, and 9.5 percent in September 2018.

The annual rate of FLW index fell by 0.3 percent during the month. Moreover, slowdowns in the annual increments were observed in the indices of FBT at 0.7 percent; H&R, 3.5 percent; services, 3.0 percent; and miscellaneous, 2.2 percent. The index of clothing, however, retained its previous month’s annual rate of 2.8 percent (see Tables 3 and 4).

The year-on-year changes in the consumer prices for this income group in Region I (Ilocos) dropped by 1.2 percent; Region V (Bicol), 0.2 percent; and Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN), 0.1 percent.

Except for Region X (Northern Mindanao), which exhibited a higher annual rate of 0.7 percent, all other regions in AONCR posted either slower annual rates or had zero annual growth during the month. The lowest inflation among the regions in AONCR was seen in Region I (Ilocos) at -1.2 percent, while the highest was noted in Region VI (Western Visayas) at 3.9 percent (see Table 4).

Note:

Monthly CPIs for the bottom 30% income households by province and selected cities are posted at the PSA website (http://openstat.psa.gov.ph/).

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

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