November inflation in Cebu stays at 2.8% as food prices surge

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The inflation rate in Cebu Province for November 2024 remained steady at October’s rate of 2.8 percent, according to chief statistical specialist Melchor Bautista of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-Cebu).

Bautista reported on Tuesday that the three commodity groups contributing to the province’s November inflation were:

• Food and non-alcoholic beverages, with a 79.4 percent share;
• Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, with a 5.7 percent share; and
• Furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance, with a 5.1 percent share.

Meanwhile, food inflation in the province rose from 4.6 percent in October to 5.5 percent in November.

Bautista noted that the increase in food inflation was primarily driven by the faster annual rise in the prices of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses, which surged to 10.6 percent from 4.4 percent in October.

This was followed by a slower year-on-year decline in the prices of fish and other seafood, which dropped by only 0.7 percent compared to the 2.0 percent decrease recorded in October.

Other contributors to food inflation included the price indices of corn, which increased to 23.5 percent from 19.8 percent, and meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, which rose to 4.9 percent from 4.6 percent in October.

In Cebu City, the inflation rate for November declined to 3.3 percent from 4.2 percent in the previous month. Similarly, Lapu-Lapu City recorded a decrease to 2.1 percent from 2.6 percent, while Mandaue City saw a significant drop to 1.0 percent from 2.7 percent.

READ: Inflation rate in C. Visayas for October 2024 rises to 2.9% — PSA

Central Visayas as a whole experienced a decline in its inflation rate for November, falling to 2.3 percent from 2.9 percent in October.

Inflation refers to the rate at which prices increase over a given period, indicating a decrease in the peso’s purchasing power.

Nationally, the Philippines’ headline inflation rose to 2.5 percent in November, up from 2.3 percent in October.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas aims to maintain inflation within a target range of 2 to 4 percent for 2024. /clorenciana