May inflation at 2.1% from previous month’s 2.2%

June 5, 2020

Inflation  continued to move at a slower rate of 2.1 percent in May, from 2.2 percent in April. This brings the year-to-date inflation for 2020 at 2.5 percent.  In May 2019, inflation  was higher at 3.2 percent .

Slowdown in  headline inflation in May  was mainly driven by the 5.6 percent annual drop in the transport index.

The downtrend in the headline inflation was also brought about by  the deceleration in the annual increments recorded in the indices of the following commodity groups during the month:

Food and non-alocholic beverages, 2.9 percent;

Clothing and footwear, 2.4 percent;

Furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, 4.1 percent; and

Recreation and culture, 1.4 percent.

A higher annual increase of 18percent was noted in the index of alcoholic beverages and tobacco. The indices of the rest of the commodity groups such  as  housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels; health; communication; education; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services retained their previous month’s annual growth rates.

Core inflation in May retained  its previous month’s annual rate of 2.9 percent. In May 2019, it was posted at 3.5 percent.

Inflation for food at the national level slowed down to 2.9 percent in May, from 3.4 percent in the previous month. It was observed at 3.2 percent in May 2019.

Annual decreases were still noted in the indices of rice at 2.7 percent; corn, 0.7 percent; and sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery,  0.8 percent.

The indices of other food groups also exhibited slower annual increments during the month, except for the indices of other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products; and oils and fats, whose annual growth rates were higher at 2.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Inflation in NCR was higher at 1.4 percent in May 2020 than in the previous month which posted at 1.2 percent. In May 2019, inflation was 3.4 percent.

The transport index registered a slower annual decline of 1.8 percent in May 2020 than its annual drop in the previous month of 6.5 percent. On the other hand, annual gains decelerated for food and non-alcoholic beverages at 2.7 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco,13.8 percent; and recreation and culture, 0.6 percent.

Moreover, the indices of the following commodity groups retained their previous month’s annual growh rates:

Clothing and footwear,  1.2 percent;

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and others fuels, -1.7 percent;

Furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, 5.8 percent;

Health, 2.1 percent;

Communication, 0.3 percent;

Education, 5.7 percent; and

Restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 1.9 percent.

Following the same trend as that of the national level, inflation in Areas Outside NCR (AONCR) eased further to 2.2 percent in May. Inflation in AONCR was recorded at  2.5 percent in the previous month and 3.1 percent in May 2019.

Contributing to the downtrend in the inflation in the area during the month was the 6.8 percent annual drop in the transport index. In addition, annual hikes decelerated in the indices of the following commodity groups:

Food and non-alcoholic beverages, 3.1 percent;

Clothing and footwear, 2.8 percent;

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 0.9 percent;

Furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, 3.6 percent; and

Recreation and culture, 1.6 percent.

On the other hand, annual growth rates were higher in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 18.8 percent and health at  3 percent. The indices of the rest of the commodity groups such as communication, education, and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services retained their previous month’s annual growth rates.

Eleven regions in AONCR had lower inflation in May relative to their inflation in April. The lowest inflation among the regions outside NCR during the month was still observed in Region X (Northern Mindanao) at 1 percent, while the highest remained in Region XII (Soccsksargen) at 3.6 percent. DMS