C. Visayas inflation drops to 2.3% in November 2024

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CEBU CITY, Philippines — Central Visayas recorded a decrease in its inflation rate for November 2024, dropping to 2.3 percent from October’s 2.9 percent, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-7).

PSA-7 Chief Statistical Specialist Leopoldo P. Alfanta, Jr. reported in Cebu City on Tuesday that the decline in the region’s inflation rate in November was primarily due to slower annual increments in the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels category, which fell to 1.1 percent in November from 3.7 percent in October.

Alfanta also attributed the decrease to the food and non-alcoholic beverages index, which logged 4.0 percent in November, down from 4.4 percent in October.

Additionally, five other commodity groups contributed to the decline, as slower price increments were noted in:

• Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which fell to 3.2 percent from 3.6 percent.
• Clothing and footwear, down to 0.7 percent from 1.2 percent.
• Health, which dropped to 2.5 percent from 2.7 percent.
• Recreation, sport, and culture, which declined to 1.1 percent from 1.5 percent.
• Restaurants and accommodation services, which fell to 0.5 percent from 0.8 percent.

Alfanta emphasized that the top contributors to the region’s inflation rate were food and non-alcoholic beverages (69.6 percent share), housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (11.8 percent share), and furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance (6.8 percent share).

On the other hand, two commodity groups registered faster annual increases in November:

• Furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance, which rose to 4.6 percent from 1.2 percent.
• Personal care and miscellaneous goods and services, which increased to 2.4 percent from 2.1 percent.

Food inflation in the region also declined, dropping to 4.2 percent in November from 4.6 percent in October. Alfanta noted that this was due to slower year-on-year increases in rice prices, which fell to 5.1 percent in November from 8.8 percent in October, and fruits and nuts, which dropped from 12.6 percent to 5.3 percent.

Milk, other dairy products, and eggs also contributed to the downtrend, recording 2.6 percent in November, down from 4.6 percent.

The top three food groups contributing to the region’s food inflation were:

1. Cereals and cereal products (including rice, corn, flour, bread, pasta, and other bakery products) with a 65.3 percent share.

2. Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, contributing 13.7 percent.

3. Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses, which accounted for 10.0 percent.

Among the provinces in Central Visayas—which includes Negros Oriental and Siquijor—Cebu recorded the highest inflation rate for November, followed by Bohol at 1.8 percent, Siquijor at 1.3 percent, and Negros Oriental at 0.9 percent.

Inflation refers to the rate of price increase over a specific period, which also reflects a decline in the purchasing power of the peso. /clorenciana