December inflation eases to seven-month low of 5.1%

January 4, 2019

Inflation for December eased to a seven-month low of 5.1 percent from six percent in November, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

“This is the lowest annual rate since June 2018,” Undersecretary Lisa Bersales said in a press conference in Quezon City on Friday.

Bersales said the main drivers for the slowdown of inflation are food and non-alcoholic beverages at 6.7 percent and transportation at 4 percent.

“Major drivers (on the slowdown) are the same drivers that caused inflation to be higher in the past month,” she said.

This resulted to an average inflation rate of 5.2 percent for 2018 compared to 2.9 percent last 2017. This is the highest since 2009.

For food and non-alcoholic beverage index, slower rates of increase were seen in rice at 6 percent, fish at 9.9 percent, meat at 5.5 percent, and vegetables at 8.1 percent

For transport, slowdown were seen at petroleum and fuels for personal transport and equipment at 4.2 percent; jeepney fare at 5.4 percent and domestic airfare at 2.1 percent.

Bersales said among the 11 major commodity groups, six posted slower annual increase.

These were food and non-alcoholic beverages at 6.7 percent;  transport at 4.0 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco, at 21.7 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at  4.1 percent; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house at 3.8 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services at 4.3 percent.

Higher annual increments were seen in clothing and footwear at 2.8 percent and health at 4.8 percent.

In the National Capital Region, inflation went down to 4.8 percent from 5.6 percent last November.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao recorded the highest inflation outside NCR at 7.5 percent, while Central Luzon had the lowest inflation rate at 3.2 percent.

Bersales said the reason of the high inflation in ARMM is  high prices of rice. Ella Dionisio/DMS