Cebu’s December inflation climbs to 3.5%

AFP file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The inflation rate in Cebu Province in December has climbed to 3.5 percent from 2.8 percent in November 2024.
Chief Statistical Specialist Melchor Bautista of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-Cebu) reported this result in a press conference on Tuesday at the provincial statistical office in Cebu City.
Bautista indicated that the recent upward trend in inflation was primarily driven by a notable increase in the transport index, which rose by 13.3 percent in December, a significant shift from the annual decrease of 1.7 percent observed in November last year.
Additionally, the index of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels experienced a considerable annual increase, rising to 2.1 percent in December 2024, compared to 0.7 percent in November 2024. This further contributed to the overall upward trend in inflation.
Meanwbule, the following commodity groups experienced a slowdown in year-on-year increases:
a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages: 3.5 percent, down from 5.2 percent;
b. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco: 2.5 percent, down from 5.0 percent;
c. Furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance: 4.2 percent, down from 4.4 percent;
d. Health: 2.7 percent, down from 3.5 percent;
e. Information and communication: 0.0 percent, down from 0.1 percent;
f. Personal care and miscellaneous goods and services: 2.3 percent, down from 2.6 percent.
As for the commodity groups that contributed to December’s inflation, food and non-alcoholic beverages with 39.8 percent share, logged as the main contributor.
It was followed by transport with 34.5 percent share or 1.2 percentage point; and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with 12.7 percent share or 0.4 percentage point.
Inflation refers to the rate at which prices increase over a given period, indicating a decrease in the peso’s purchasing power.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas aims to maintain inflation within a target range of 2 to 4 percent for 2024.
The country’s headline inflation or overall inflation stood to 2.9 percent in December 2024 from 2.5 percent in November.
As for the regional inflation, Central Visayas also logged an increase from 2.3 percent in November to 2.9 percent in December 2024. /clorenciana
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