Fuel prices push Bacolod City inflation to 8.7% in October

By Staff Writer

BACOLOD CITY — Inflation in Bacolod City quickened to 8.7% in October 2026 from 8.4% in September, while the rate in Negros Occidental rose to 6.7% from 6.4%, as gasoline prices pushed transport costs higher, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Nov. 12.

The increases fall hardest on the poorest households, whose cost of living is rising faster than the average: inflation for the bottom 30% of income households reached 9.6% in Bacolod City and 6.9% in the province, with food and non-alcoholic beverages accounting for nearly half of that rate.

Both headline rates are well above the 2% to 4% range that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) targets for inflation, which means fares, fuel, rent, and food are taking a larger bite out of household budgets in Negros than they did a year ago.

In October 2025, inflation stood at 1.2% in Bacolod City and 0.5% in Negros Occidental.

Bacolod City’s October rate exceeded the national rate of 7.8% and the Negros Island Region’s 7.2%, while the provincial rate stayed below both.

From January to October, inflation averaged 5.8% in Bacolod City, 3.4% in Negros Occidental, 4.4% in the Negros Island Region, and 5.6% nationwide.

The October rate in Bacolod City equals the 8.7% posted in March and April 2023 and is the highest since then, based on the historical series in the PSA report.

For Negros Occidental, the 6.7% rate is the highest since October 2023, when inflation stood at 7.8%.

The climb has been steep: the province recorded 0.0% inflation in March 2026, and the city recorded 0.1% in February 2026.

Negros Occidental: transport, food, and housing

In Negros Occidental, the PSA attributed the faster October rate mainly to three commodity groups: food and non-alcoholic beverages, where inflation rose to 4.9% from 4.6% in September; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, at 8.4% from 8.0%; and transport, at 11.5% from 9.6%.

Gasoline stood out within transport, with its inflation rate in the province reaching 43.1% in October from 32.2% in September.

The food index alone rose 5.0% year on year, up from 4.7% the previous month.

Actual rentals paid by tenants for their main residence rose 6.2%, up from 4.9% in September.

Transport accounted for 37.7% of the uptrend in provincial inflation, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages at 32.6%, and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 16.6%.

As a share of the overall provincial rate, food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 32.2%, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels for 19.7%, and transport for 14.7%, the PSA briefing materials showed.

Inflation also quickened for clothing and footwear, to 8.1% from 8.0%; furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance, to 14.2% from 13.7%; and information and communication, to 4.5% from 3.4%.

Slower rates were recorded for alcoholic beverages and tobacco, at 10.5% from 10.6%, and for personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, at 5.5% from 6.0%.

Five groups kept their September rates: health at 11.2%; recreation, sport, and culture at 13.1%; education services at minus 3.1%; restaurants and accommodation services at 3.9%; and financial services at 0.0%.

Bacolod City: transport accounts for most of the uptrend

In Bacolod City, the PSA traced the faster rate to food and non-alcoholic beverages, where inflation rose to 7.0% from 6.8% in September, and to transport, where it jumped to 21.9% from 18.2%.

Gasoline inflation in the city reached 48.3% in October, up from 41.3% in September.

The city’s food index rose 7.0%, compared with 6.9% the month before.

Transport alone accounted for 78.2% of the uptrend in the city’s inflation, while food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 16.0%.

As a share of the city’s overall rate, food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 26.6% and transport for 25.8%.

Faster increases were also recorded for furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance, at 9.9% from 9.6%; health, at 3.8% from 3.7%; and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, at 4.7% from 4.5%.

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels was the only group to slow in the city, to 8.4% from 9.0%.

Seven groups kept their September rates: alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 8.3%; clothing and footwear at 10.3%; information and communication at 2.7%; recreation, sport, and culture at 5.2%; education services at minus 4.9%; restaurants and accommodation services at 12.4%; and financial services at 0.0%.

Poorest households face faster price increases

The PSA compiles a separate consumer price index for the bottom 30% of income households, and that measure ran ahead of the all-income rate in both areas in October.

In Negros Occidental, inflation for this group rose to 6.9% in October from 6.7% in September, bringing the January-to-October average to 3.0%.

The same group in the province had recorded a rate of minus 1.4% as recently as March.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages, at 5.5% from 5.3%, contributed 44.7% of inflation for the province’s bottom 30%, while housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, at 9.4% from 9.1%, contributed 17.0%.

In Bacolod City, inflation for the bottom 30% rose to 9.6% from 9.2% in September, for a January-to-October average of 5.8%.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation for the city’s poorest households stood at 9.4%, up from 9.2%, and contributed 46.6% of their overall rate.

Transport inflation for the group jumped to 13.8% from 9.9% and contributed 14.0%.

Transport accounted for 71.0% of the uptrend in the group’s inflation in Bacolod City, and food and non-alcoholic beverages for 23.8%.

National picture

Nationwide, the 7.8% October rate was the highest since February 2023, when inflation reached 8.6%, the Philippine Star reported, citing the PSA.

Transport inflation at the national level rose to 20.1% in October from 14.6% in September, which places Bacolod City’s 21.9% above the national figure and the province’s 11.5% below it.

National food inflation eased to 6.4% in October from 6.8% in September, according to the PSA, in contrast to the faster food rates recorded in both Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.

Gasoline prices nationwide rose 51.1% in October, BusinessMirror reported, citing PSA data.

The BSP raised its policy interest rate by half a percentage point to 5.5% in October and expects inflation to average 6.1% this year, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

Higher policy rates generally translate into costlier loans for households and businesses.

Longer-term trend

The PSA’s historical series shows that both areas last saw double-digit inflation in early 2023, when the rate peaked at 12.4% in Negros Occidental in February and at 12.1% in Bacolod City in January.