Davao Region’s year-on-year regional inflation increased to 5.4 percent in September this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority in Region 11 (PSA-11) said Tuesday.
In a statement, PSA-11 said last month’s inflation rate is higher compared to the 3.9 percent in August 2023, but much lower compared to September 2022’s 9.6 percent.
The uptrend in the region’s overall inflation is primarily due to the faster annual growth rate in food and non-alcoholic beverages at 8 percent from 6 percent in the previous month, the agency said.
In addition, the faster annual increments of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels are at -1.1 percent in September 2023 from -2.4 percent in August 2023, and restaurants and accommodation services at 9.5 percent from 6.8 percent in the previous month.
These figures, PSA-11 said, contributed to the upward trend of regional headline inflation.
The annual increases were higher in the indices of transport at 1.5 percent from -0.3 percent; personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services at 6.4 percent from 6.1 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 15.2 percent from 14.7 percent.
Increases were also noted in furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance at 6.1 percent from 6.0 percent; education services at 4.0 percent from 3.9 percent; and recreation, sport, and culture at 7.5 percent from 7.3 percent.
‘On the other hand, lower annual growth rates were observed in the indices of health at 5.3 percent from 5.7 percent, and information and communication at 1.3 percent from 1.7 percent. Meanwhile, the indices for clothing and footwear, and financial services retained their previous month’s inflation rates,’ PSA-11 said.
The top three commodity groups contributing to the September 2023 regional headline inflation were food and non-alcoholic beverages with 64.4 percent share or 3.5 percentage points; restaurants, and accommodation services with 13.9 percent share or 0.8 percentage points; and alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 6.4 percent share or 0.3 percentage points.
‘Davao Region’s food inflation accelerated to 8.0 percent in September 2023 from 5.8 percent in the previous month. In September 2022, food inflation was higher at 10.8 percent,’ the statement said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
