NOVEMBER AND OCTOBER 2011
| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items | |||
| Nov 2011 | Oct 2011 | Year-to-date | |
| Philippines | 4.8 | 5.2 | 4.8 |
| NCR | 3.5 | 4.9 | 4.0 |
| AONCR | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.1 |
The year-on-year headline inflation rate at the national level slowed down to 4.8 percent in November from 5.2 percent in October. This was effected by the slower annual increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; health; transport; and education indexes and the decrease in the annual rate posted in communication index. Inflation a year ago was 3.7 percent.
Annual inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) likewise eased to 3.5 percent in November from 4.9 percent in October. The downtrend resulted from the deceleration in the annual increment registered in the indexes of food and non-alcoholic beverages; clothing and footwear; housing, water, electricity gas and other fuels; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; health; and transport. Negative annual rates were also noted in the indexes of communication and recreation and culture.
In Areas Outside NCR (AONCR), annual inflation improved to 5.1 percent in November from 5.3 percent in October. Slowdowns in the annual upticks in food and non-alcoholic beverages; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; health; transport; and education indexes and negative annual adjustment in communication index were observed during the month.
| Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items January 2007 - November 2011 | |||||
| Month | Year | ||||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| January | 3.8 | 4.6 | 7.0 | 3.9 | 4.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | 2.9 | 5.1 | 7.2 | 3.9 | 4.7 |
| March | 2.6 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 4.8 |
| April | 2.6 | 7.3 | 5.6 | 4.0 | 4.7 |
| May | 2.6 | 8.3 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 5.1 |
| June | 2.7 | 9.4 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 5.2 |
| July | 2.9 | 10.2 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 5.1 |
| August | 2.7 | 10.5 | 1.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 |
| September | 2.9 | 10.1 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 4.8 |
| October | 2.9 | 9.7 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 5.2 |
| November | 3.1 | 9.0 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.8 |
| December | 3.8 | 7.7 | 4.5 | 3.6 | |
| Average | 2.9 | 8.3 | 4.1 | 3.8 | |
| Month-on-Month Inflation Rates, All Items | ||
| Nov 2011 | Oct 2011 | |
| Philippines | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| NCR | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| AONCR | 0.4 | 0.3 |
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The month-on-month inflation in the Philippines inched up by 0.4 percent in November from 0.3 percent in October. This can be attributed to higher charges in electricity rates and increments in the prices of kerosene in many regions including NCR. In addition, upward price adjustments in LPG and diesel and in clothing and some items for personal care were also noted in selected regions.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
(2006=100)
NOVEMBER 2011
By Region, Year-on-Year
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The annual inflation in NCR decelerated to 3.5 percent in November from 4.9 percent in October.
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Likewise, annual inflation in AONCR slowed down to 5.1 percent in November from 5.3 percent in October as nine regions recorded slower inflation rates. The lowest annual inflation was still noticed in Central Visayas at 3.0 percent while the highest annual rate remained in ARMM at 6.7 percent.
By Commodity Group, Year-on-Year
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The year-on-year increase in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index at the national level was slower at 4.8 percent in November from 5.7 percent in October; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 5.7 percent from 6.5 percent; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, 2.3 percent from 2.5 percent; health, 3.1 percent from 3.4 percent; transport, 6.6 percent from 6.7 percent; and education, 4.7 percent from 5.1 percent. Moreover, the downward annual movement in communication index remained at -0.4 percent in November. The rest of the commodity groups registered higher annual inflation rates.
The annual hike in food alone index in the Philippines eased to 4.9 percent in November from 5.8 percent in October.
A slower annual increase was seen in the rice index at 1.6 percent in November from 2.8 percent in October; meat, 2.5 percent from 2.8 percent; fish, 8.0 percent from 8.5 percent; oils and fats, 24.6 percent from 28.9 percent; and vegetables, 14.4 percent from 19.9 percent. The annual change in sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery index further decreased to -16.2 percent in November from -13.5 percent in October.
The rest of the food groups however posted higher annual increments.
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In NCR, the annual gain in food and alcoholic beverages index slid to 2.3 percent in November from 5.5 percent in October; clothing and footwear, 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 5.1 percent from 6.8 percent; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, 0.4 percent from 0.8 percent; health, 3.2 percent from 3.3 percent; and transport, 6.7 percent from 7.2 percent. In addition, a negative annual adjustment was noted in the communication index at -0.4 percent in November from -1.0 percent in October and recreation and culture, -0.1 percent from zero growth. While the annual inflation in education index remained at its October rate of 3.8 percent, the rest of the commodity groups registered higher annual rates.
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The annual uptick in the food alone index in NCR slowed down to 2.4 percent in November from 5.8 percent in October.
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A negative annual rate of change was still observed in the rice index at -8.2 percent in November from -3.1 percent in October; corn, -8.9 percent from -5.8 percent; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery, -9.8 percent from -5.7 percent. Moreover, the annual hike in meat index decelerated to 1.7 percent in November from 3.4 percent in October; fish, 3.8 percent from 5.5 percent; oils and fats, 40.4 percent from 47.1 percent; and vegetables, 11.8 percent from 34.3 percent. While the annual growth in milk, cheese and eggs index remained at 2.2 percent, the rest of the food groups recorded higher annual increases.
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In AONCR, a slower annual change was also seen in food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 5.4 percent in November from 5.7 percent in October; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 5.9 percent from 6.3 percent; health, 3.1 percent from 3.4 percent; transport, 6.5 percent from 6.6 percent; and education, 5.0 percent from 5.5 percent. The annual rate in communication index further declined by -0.3 percent in November from -0.1 percent in October. The annual add-ons in the rest of the commodity groups were either higher or remained at their last month’s rate.
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The annual inflation for the food alone index in AONCR eased to 5.5 percent in November from 5.8 percent in October.
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The annual gain in the rice index further decelerated to 3.0 percent in November from 3.6 percent in October. Seven regions posted slower annual rates with the biggest decline of 3.9 percentage points seen in Central Luzon (3.2% from 7.1%).
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Moreover, slower annual add-ons were recorded in fish index at 8.8 percent in November from 9.0 percent in October; oils and fats, 20.6 percent from 24.2 percent; fruits, 7.7 percent from 8.1 percent; and vegetables, 15.0 percent from 17.2 percent.
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The annual rate in sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery index further went down by -17.2 percent in November from -14.6 percent. The rest of the food groups however have higher annual increments.
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By Region, Month-on-Month
Measured from a month ago level, increases in prices of consumer items in NCR slowed down to 0.3 percent in November from 0.6 percent in October. It resulted from the -0.3 percent drop in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index and -0.1 percent in the transport index. On the contrary, a faster monthly gain was noted in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index at 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent and housing, water, electricity gas and other fuels, 1.3 percent from zero growth. While the health and restaurants and miscellaneous goods and services indexes moved at their last month’s rate of 0.1 percent, the rest of the commodity groups recorded a zero growth during the month.
Prices of consumer items in AONCR inched up by 0.4 percent in November from 0.3 percent in October. Higher upticks were noticed in clothing and footwear index at 0.3 percent in November from 0.2 percent in October; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index, 0.5 percent from -0.1 percent; and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house index, 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent. From a zero growth, the transport index also went up by 0.2 percent and recreation and culture and education index, 0.1 percent. Add-ons in health and restaurants and miscellaneous goods and services index remained at 0.2 percent. The rest of the commodity groups either registered slower monthly growths or negative rate.
Higher monthly rates were posted in ten regions with the highest rate of 0.8 percent in Bicol. Meanwhile, Davao had the lowest rate at -0.1 percent.
Among the three big areas of the country, price hikes in consumer items in Luzon were faster compared to Visayas and Mindanao areas.
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
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Prices of consumer items in the Philippines generally went up by 0.4 percent in November from 0.3 percent in October. From a zero growth in October, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index climbed by 0.7 percent and recreation and culture and education index, 0.1 percent. Higher increments were also observed in clothing and footwear and restaurants and miscellaneous goods and services indexes at 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent and transport index, 0.2 percent from -0.1 percent. While the monthly adjustment in the communication index decreased by -0.1 percent, the rest of the commodity groups had slower increases.
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The vegetables index in AONCR accelerated 4.9 percent in November due to the upticks in the prices of vegetables in all the regions. This was however slower than the 5.2 percent growth last month. On the contrary, the vegetables index in NCR dropped by -5.3 percent from 22.5 percent due to sufficient supplies of vegetables. Hence, the national index went up at a slower rate of 3.1 percent from 7.9 percent.
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The fish index in the Philippines generally went up by 0.7 percent; NCR, 0.2 percent; and AONCR, 0.9 percent. This was caused by the limited supplies of selected fish species brought about by the difficulty in catching fish that usually settle deep in the waters during the cold mornings.
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With the continuous upward price adjustments of off-season fresh fruits particularly mango and lanzones, the fruits index in the Philippines and NCR advanced by 1.3 percent and AONCR, 1.2 percent.
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The slight increase in the demand for chicken and pork in some regions due to the observance of the long weekend holidays raised the meat index in the Philippines by 0.2 percent; NCR, 0.6 percent; and AONCR, 0.1 percent.
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The national index for food products not elsewhere classified gained 0.9 percent in November from 0.4 percent in October; NCR, 1.6 percent from 1.3 percent; and AONCR, 0.7 percent from 0.2 percent. This was attributed to the continuous price add-ons in common spices and seasonings.
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Enough supply of rice brought about by the harvest of palay in some regions resulted to its lower prices in the markets. Price reductions in NFA rice were still noted in NCR and in some provinces. Thus, the rice index in the Philippines dropped by -0.7 percent; NCR, -0.2 percent; and AONCR, -0.8 percent.
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Higher charges for electricity rates in NCR and in selected regions primarily pushed up the index for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels in the Philippines by 0.7 percent; NCR, 1.3 percent; and AONCR, 0.5 percent. Increases in the prices of kerosene in many regions including NCR and LPG in selected regions also contributed to the uptrend.
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The restaurants and miscellaneous goods and services index in the Philippines and AONCR grew by 0.2 percent and in NCR, 0.1 percent. This was attributed to the upticks in the prices in selected items for personal care in many regions including NCR. Meals eaten outside the home were also priced higher in selected regions during the month.
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Prices of diesel were generally higher in many regions. Thus, the transport index in the Philippines and AONCR went up by 0.2 percent. On the contrary, the transport index in NCR dropped by -0.1 percent as prices of gasoline generally decreased during the month.
NOTE: CPIs and inflation rates by province and selected city are also available upon request at NSO, Industry and Trade Statistics Department, Economic Indices and Indicators Division (Telephone Numbers: 716-39-35 and 715-33-47).
Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines
Page last updated: December 6, 2011
