| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2016 | Feb 2016 | Mar 2015 | Year-to-date | |
| Philippines | ||||
| Headline | 1.1 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 1.1 |
| Core | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 1.6 |
| NCR | ||||
| Headline | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 0.3 |
| AONCR | ||||
| Headline | 1.3 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.3 |
The country’s annual headline inflation increased to 1.1 percent in March 2016. It was posted at 0.9 percent a month ago and 2.4 percent in March 2015. The growth was due to higher annual increments noted in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; recreation and culture; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation picked up 1.5 percent in March 2016. It was the same rate in February 2016 while it escalated by 2.7 percent in March last year.
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Similarly, inflation in NCR inched up 0.2 percent in March 2016. It was pegged at 0.1 percent last month and 1.9 percent in March 2015. Higher annual upticks were seen in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services.
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Following the same trend, inflation in Areas Outside NCR (AONCR) leaped by 1.3 percent in March 2016. In February, it rose by 1.2 percent and in the same period last year, 2.6 percent. The indices of six out of the 11 commodity groups had higher annual rates during the month.
| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items January 2011 - March 2016 (2006=100) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Year | |||||
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| January | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 2.4 | 1.3 |
| February | 4.7 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 0.9 |
| March | 4.9 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 1.1 |
| April | 4.7 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 2.2 | |
| May | 4.9 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 4.5 | 1.6 | |
| June | 5.2 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 1.2 | |
| July | 4.9 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 0.8 | |
| August | 4.6 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 4.9 | 0.6 | |
| September | 4.7 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 0.4 | |
| October | 5.2 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 0.4 | |
| November | 4.7 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 1.1 | |
| December | 4.2 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 1.5 | |
| Average | 4.6 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 1.4 | |
| Month-on-Month Inflation Rates, All Items (2006=100) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2016 | Feb 2016 | |
| Philippines | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| NCR | -0.2 | 0.1 |
| AONCR | 0.1 | -0.3 |
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Consumer prices in the Philippines went up by 0.1 percent in March compared to 0.3 percent drop in February. This was mainly attributed to the general upward adjustments in the prices of gasoline and diesel nationwide and increased air and ship fares in selected provinces. Also contributing to the uptrend were higher prices of alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, meals eaten outside the home and some items for personal care and effects.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
(2006=100)
MARCH 2016
By Region, Year-on-Year
- Inflation in NCR advanced 0.2 percent in March.
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Likewise, inflation in AONCR gained 1.3 percent in March as ten regions had higher annual increments during the month. The highest annual inflation of 3.0 percent remained in ARMM while the lowest was in CALABARZON and Bicol Region at 0.1 percent.
By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year
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At the national level, annual mark-ups were higher in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 1.6 percent in March; alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 5.0 percent; recreation and culture, 1.1 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 1.9 percent. The other commodity groups retained their previous month’s rates with the index for transport having a zero growth. Decline was, however, still recorded in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at -1.5 percent.
On an annual basis, the food alone index in the Philippines increased by 1.6 percent in March. Last month, it rose 1.5 percent and in March 2015, 4.4 percent.
Faster annual add-ons were noted in the indices of corn at 2.5 percent; other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products, 1.1 percent; meat, 1.2 percent; fish, 2.8 percent; milk, cheese and egg, 1.2 percent; oils and fats, 0.3 percent; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery, 7.1 percent. Other food groups either decreased or had lower annual growths with the index of fruits retaining its last month’s rate of 3.3 percent.
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In NCR, the annual adjustment in food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages and tobacco; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services indices correspondingly picked up by 2.0 percent and 1.1 percent. The other commodity groups either had lower annual growths or moved at their last month’s rates. On the other hand, the indices for housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels and transport continued to register negative annual rate at -3.2 percent and -0.9 percent, respectively.
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The annual change of the food alone index in NCR climbed by 2.2 percent. It was pegged at 1.8 percent last month and 3.9 percent in the same period a year ago.
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A double-digit annual growth was still observed in the corn index at 28.7 percent. Higher annual upticks were also noticed in the indices of meat at 3.1 percent; fish, 2.1 percent; milk, cheese and egg, 0.6 percent; fruits, 6.4 percent; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery, 5.0 percent. Meanwhile, the other food groups either had slower annual mark-ups or negative rates.
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- In AONCR, the annual growth in food and non-alcoholic beverages index gained momentum at 1.5 percent in March; alcoholic beverages and tobacco index, 5.4 percent; health index, 2.2 percent; transport index, 0.2 percent; recreation and culture index, 0.9 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services index, 2.3 percent. The rest of the commodity groups either recorded annual decrease or retained their last month’s rate.
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The annual change in the food alone index in AONCR climbed by 1.6 percent in March. Its annual growth last month was 1.4 percent and in March 2015, 4.5 percent.
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All other food groups posted faster annual add-ons except for the indices of fruits and food products not elsewhere classified.
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The rice index was still on a downtrend as its annual movement was observed at -1.7 percent. Eleven regions had negative rates with the lowest remaining in Bicol Region at -10.6 percent. Meanwhile, the highest annual growth of 3.6 percent was still noted in ARMM.
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By Region, Month-on-Month
In NCR, prices of consumer items dropped by 0.2 percent in March. The rate last month was 0.1 percent. The downtrend was brought about by the declines in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at -0.5 percent and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, -0.4 percent. On the other hand, the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco exhibited higher increments at 0.3 percent; transport, 0.5 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 0.6 percent. The rest of the commodity groups had zero growth.
Consumer prices in AONCR, however, inched up 0.1 percent in March. A month ago, it was pegged at -0.3 percent. Higher monthly increases were seen in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 0.1 percent; transport, 0.8 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 0.4 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their last month’s rate or had zero growth with the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages still registering a negative rate.
Price gains were higher in in eight regions with the highest monthly growth of 0.6 percent recorded in Central Visayas. Meanwhile, the lowest rate of -0.2 percent was in CALABARZON and Western Visayas.
Among the three big areas of the country, price increases in Mindanao were generally faster compared to Visayas areas. On the contrary, prices in Luzon areas generally went down during the month.
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
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Prices of consumer items in the Philippines went up 0.1 percent in March. This was mainly effected by the 0.8 percent growth in the transport index. In addition, a higher monthly gain of 0.5 percent was noted in restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services. The other commodity groups either had slower add-ons or negative rates. The index for clothing and footwear remained at 0.1 percent while those for communication and education had zero growth.
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The vegetables index continued to exhibit negative rate at -6.2 percent in NCR and -2.2 percent in AONCR. This was due to lower prices of lowland-grown vegetables brought about by their sufficient supplies in the markets. The national index for vegetables declined by 2.9 percent.
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A 0.1 percent drop was noticed in the index for rice in AONCR. The lowest rate of -1.1 percent was posted in Bicol Region. Meanwhile, the group’s index in NCR registered a zero growth as higher prices of glutinous rice were offset by the lower prices of commercial rice. At the national level, the rice index shrank by -0.1 percent.
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The meat index in AONCR inched up 0.1 percent due to higher prices of pork in selected provinces. In NCR, lower demand for meat during the Lenten season pushed down its prices during the month. This resulted to a 0.6 percent decline in the meat index in the area. For the Philippines, the index fell by 0.1 percent.
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In AONCR, the fish index moved up by 0.2 percent. However, the group’s index in NCR decreased by 0.3 percent. The national index had a 0.1 percent growth during the month.
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Food products not elsewhere classified index in NCR went down by 0.3 percent and in AONCR, -0.6 percent as prices of spices and condiments like ginger and calamansi were generally cheaper during the month. The group’s index at the country level dropped by 0.6 percent.
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The index for sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery gained 0.3 percent in AONCR and 2.1 percent in NCR due to increments in the prices of sugar. The national index advanced 0.6 percent during the period.
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The transport index in NCR increased by 0.5 percent and in AONCR, 0.8 percent. This was effected by the price mark-ups in gasoline and diesel together with higher air and ship fares in many provinces. For the Philippines, the group’s index rose 0.8 percent.
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Meals eaten outside the home and some items for personnel care and effects were generally priced higher in selected provinces. Thus, the index for restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services went up by 0.6 percent in NCR and 0.4 percent in AONCR. The national index posted a 0.5 percent growth during the month.
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Upward price adjustments in alcoholic beverages and cigarettes pushed up the index for alcoholic beverages and tobacco by 0.3 percent in NCR and 0.5 percent in AONCR. At the country level, the group’s index picked up by 0.5 percent.
Notes:
- The following survey reports for March 2016 were not received as of April 4, 2016:
a. Basilan - 1st and 2nd Phase
b. Tawi-Tawi - 2nd Phase - 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.) JOSIE B. PEREZ
(Deputy National Statistician)
Officer-in-Charge
