MARCH AND FEBRUARY 2011

• The year-on-year headline inflation in the Philippines went up by 4.3 percent in March, the same rate recorded in February. Higher annual growths in services and miscellaneous items index were offsetted by slower annual rates in clothing and fuel, light and water (FLW) index. Inflation during the same month last year was 4.4 percent.

• Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation eased to 3.4 percent in March from 3.6 percent in February.

   

  • In NCR, annual inflation at 4.0 percent in March was slower by 0.6 percentage point from its February rate of 4.6 percent. Annual increases slowed down in all the commodity groups except in services and miscellaneous items index.

  • Annual inflation in Areas Outside the National Capital Region (AONCR) advanced to 4.5 percent in March from 4.2 percent in February. Except in clothing and FLW index, higher annual price adjustments were posted in all the commodity groups.

     

• Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items January 2006 - March 2011
  Month	Year
  	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
  January	6.7	3.9	4.9	7.1	4.3	3.6r
  February	7.6	2.6	5.4	7.3	4.2	4.3
  March	7.6	2.2	6.4	6.4	4.4	4.3
  April	7.1	2.3	8.3	4.8	4.5r
  May	6.9	2.4	9.5	3.3	4.3
  June	6.7	2.3	11.4	1.5	3.9
  July	6.4	2.6	12.3	0.2	3.9
  August	6.3	2.4	12.4	0.1r	4.0
  September	5.7	2.7	11.8	0.6r	3.5r
  October	5.4	2.7	11.2	1.6	2.8
  November	4.6	3.2	9.9	2.8	3.1r
  December	4.3	3.9	8.0	4.3r	3.1r
  Average	6.2	2.8	9.3	3.2	3.8

• The overall monthly price increment in consumer items at 0.3 percent in March were generally slower than the 1.1 percent growth registered in February. This was due to the price reductions in the heavily weighted food items particularly on fish, fruits and vegetables. Price decreases on LPG and lower charges for electricity rates in NCR also contributed to the downtrend.

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  CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
  (2000=100)
  MARCH 2011

By Region, Year-on-Year

• The annual inflation in NCR moved up at a slower rate of 4.0 percent in March from 4.6 percent in February.

• The annual inflation in AONCR however picked up to 4.5 percent in March from 4.2 percent in February. Higher annual inflation rates were posted in eleven regions with the biggest increase of 1.4 percentage points seen in Zamboanga Peninsula (5.5% from 4.1%). The highest annual rate was noticed in Caraga at 6.0 percent while the lowest inflation was in Eastern Visayas at 3.3 percent.

By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year

• The annual rate of increase in FBT index in the Philippines was higher at 4.4 percent in March from 4.2 percent in February; services, 5.7 percent from 4.9 percent; and miscellaneous items, 1.1 percent from 1.0 percent. Meanwhile, the annual gain in clothing index slowed to 1.8 percent from 1.9 percent and FLW, 7.3 percent from 10.0 percent. Annual inflation in housing and repairs (H&R) index remained at 2.1 percent.

   

  • The annual add-on in the national food alone index rose to 4.5 percent in March from 4.3 percent in February.

  • The fruits and vegetables index continued to register a double-digit annual growth at 12.8 percent in March from 12.2 percent in February. The annual upticks in corn and cereal preparations indexes were also higher at 4.3 percent from 2.7 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively; dairy products, 2.1 percent from 1.6 percent; eggs, 2.9 percent from 2.3 percent; fish, 5.5 percent from 5.1 percent; and miscellaneous foods, 7.1 percent from 6.9 percent. On the other hand, the annual increment in rice index further slipped to 1.0 percent from 1.3 percent while that for meat index remained at 0.4 percent.

   

• In NCR, the annual hike in FBT index eased to 3.4 percent in March from 3.6 percent in February; clothing, 0.7 percent from 0.9 percent; H&R, 2.4 percent from 2.8 percent; and FLW, 4.1 percent from 10.9 percent. Meanwhile, annual add-ons in services and miscellaneous items index were correspondingly higher at 7.8 percent and 0.5 percent from their respective last month’s rates of 6.6 percent and 0.4 percent.

  • Annual growth in food alone index in NCR slowed to 3.5 percent in March from 3.6 percent in February.

  • The annual rate of adjustment in meat index further decreased to -0.5 percent in March from -0.3 percent in February. Moreover, the annual increases in corn index decelerated to 0.6 percent from 4.4 percent and fruits and vegetables index, 9.0 percent from 13.6 percent. On the contrary, the annual price hike in rice index was higher at 0.1 percent from an annual decrease of -0.1 percent; cereal preparations, 2.8 percent from 2.1 percent; dairy products, 2.7 percent from 1.8 percent; eggs and fish, 2.4 percent and 2.6 percent from 2.0 percent; and miscellaneous foods, 6.7 percent from 5.9 percent.

• In AONCR, a higher annual uptick was recorded in the heavily weighted FBT index at 4.8 percent in March from 4.4 percent in February. Annual upward adjustment was also higher in H&R index at 1.8 percent from 1.6 percent; services, 4.5 percent from 4.0 percent; and miscellaneous items, 1.4 percent from 1.2 percent. Meanwhile, annual gain in FLW index slid to 9.1 percent from 9.6 percent while that for clothing index remained at 2.2 percent for three consecutive months.

  • Annual inflation in food alone index in AONCR accelerated to 4.8 percent in March from 4.5 percent in February.

  • The annual change in the fruits and vegetables index was still at double-digit at 13.9 percent in March from 11.8 percent in February. A higher annual growth was also posted in the corn index at 4.3 percent from 2.7 percent; cereal preparations, 4.9 percent from 4.3 percent; dairy products, 1.9 percent from 1.6 percent; eggs, 3.0 percent from 2.4 percent; and fish, 6.2 percent from 5.7 percent. On the other hand, annual addition in miscellaneous foods index eased to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent while that for meat index remained at 0.7 percent.

  • The annual increase in the rice index further slowed down to 1.2 percent in March from 1.5 percent in February. Ten regions recorded either negative annual rates or slower annual growths with MIMAROPA registering the biggest deceleration of 3.5 percentage points (1.1% from 4.6%). The lowest annual rate of -1.4 percent was observed in Bicol.

By Region, Month-on-Month

• Prices of consumer items in NCR went up by 0.2 percent in March. This was however slower than the 1.2 percent growth recorded in February. Prices of FBT items dropped by -0.6 percent from 0.9 percent and FLW items, -0.5 percent from 4.0 percent. Moreover, price increases in H&R items improved to 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent. On the contrary, higher price hikes were seen in services items at 2.1 percent from 1.6 percent and miscellaneous items, 0.2 percent from zero growth while that for clothing items remained at 0.1 percent.

• In AONCR, upward adjustment in consumer prices was also slower at 0.3 percent in March from 1.1 percent in February. This was due to the slowdown in the price increment of FBT items at 0.1 percent from 1.4 percent and FLW items, 0.6 percent from 1.1 percent. On the other hand, additions in clothing and miscellaneous items index were correspondingly higher at 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent from 0.2 percent. Movements in H&R and services indexes remained at 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

• Negative and slower monthly rates were recorded in twelve regions with the lowest monthly growth rate at -0.1 percent observed in CAR and CALABARZON.

• Among the three big areas of the country, price increases in consumer items in Mindanao were faster than those in Luzon and Visayas.

By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month

• The month-on-month price increments of consumer items in the Philippines slowed down to 0.3 percent in March from 1.1 percent in February mainly due to the decline in the movement of the FBT index at -0.1 percent from 1.2 percent. Addition in the H&R index also improved to 0.2 percent from 0.3 percent and FLW index, 0.2 percent from 2.1 percent. Uptick in the clothing index was however higher at 0.3 percent from 0.2 percent and services index, 1.3 percent from 1.1 percent. Growth in the miscellaneous items index remained at 0.2 percent.

  • The increase in the volume of supplies of vegetables and in-season fruits such as mangoes, papaya and pineapple pulled down their prices in the markets hence, the fruits and vegetables index in the three areas registered declines: Philippines, -3.4 percent from 3.8 percent; NCR, -7.8 percent from 0.7 percent; and AONCR, -2.2 percent from 4.7 percent.

  • The favorable weather conditions that prevailed during the month resulted to abundant fish catch resulting to lower prices. Thus, the fish index in the Philippines dropped by -0.2 percent from 1.6 percent; NCR, -0.8 percent from -0.9 percent; and AONCR, -0.1 percent from 2.1 percent.

  • With the sufficient supply of chicken in the markets, the meat index in the Philippines decreased by -0.1 percent and in NCR, -0.6 percent. On the contrary, the meat index in AONCR went up by 0.1 percent due to increased prices of canned meat, fresh beef and pork.

  • The full swing in the milling season for sugar resulted to improved supply of sugar in the markets. This brought down its prices during the month. On the other hand, prices of cooking oil were still on the uptrend despite of the decline in copra prices in the world market. Prices of margarine and selected spices and seasonings also went up in NCR and in selected regions. This offsetting trend caused the miscellaneous foods index in the Philippines to move up at slower rate of 0.5 percent from 1.4 percent; NCR, 0.8 percent from 2.5 percent; and AONCR, 0.4 percent from 0.9 percent.

  • The general upward price adjustments in rice raised the group’s index in the Philippines and AONCR by 0.3 percent and in NCR, 0.1 percent. These were however slower than the 0.5 percent growth in the Philippines and AONCR and 0.2 percent in NCR.

  • With the steady supply and decreased demand for wheat in the world market, price increments of flour and flour products improved during the month. Thus, the increase in the cereal preparations index in the Philippines and AONCR decelerated to 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent from their respective last month’s rates of 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent. In NCR, the cereal preparations moved up at a faster rate of 1.1 percent from 0.2 percent..

• The series of price hikes in gasoline and diesel nationwide primarily raised the services index in the Philippines by 1.3 percent; NCR, 2.1 percent; and AONCR, 0.9 percent. Higher land transport fares in most of the regions including NCR also contributed to the uptrend.

• Reductions in the prices of LPG and lower charges in electricity rates in NCR pulled down the FLW Index in the area by -0.5 percent from 4.0 percent. On the other hand, the movement of the FLW index in AONCR eased to 0.6 percent from 1.1 percent as decreases in the prices of LPG offsetted higher prices of kerosene and increased charges for electricity rates in many regions. The overall FLW index climbed 0.2 percent, slower than the 2.1 percent growth last month.

• Upward price adjustments in selected construction materials primarily pushed the H&R index in three areas: Philippines, 0.2 percent; NCR, 0.1 percent; and AONCR, 0.3 percent.

Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines

Page last updated: April 5, 2011