Guimaras headline inflation slows to 6.8%

The inflation rate in Guimaras province decreased to 6.8% in April from March’s rate, averaging 6.1% from January through April 2024, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

“The overall inflation downtrend in April was primarily influenced by a slower year-on-year decrease in the heavily weighted Restaurants and Accommodation Services sector, which fell to 3.1% from 13.7% in March. This was driven by sluggish price movements in restaurants, cafes, and similar establishments, which reported a 2.9% inflation rate in April,” said Nelida B. Losare, Provincial Statistics Officer.

She added, “The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels index also grew more slowly at 0.6% in April, down from 1.5% in March, largely due to a significant drop in electricity prices by 4.1%, contributing to the overall inflation downtrend.”

The inflation rate for Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco also slowed to 9.3% in April from 9.7% in March, driven by a decrease in tobacco prices.

Conversely, some commodity groups saw faster inflation rates in April: Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose to 10.9% from 10.3%; Clothing and Footwear increased to 2.1% from 2.0%; Transport accelerated to 2.5% from 0.8%; Information and Communication improved to -0.1% from -0.4%; Recreation, Sport, and Culture climbed to 11.0% from 9.7%; and Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, edged up to 2.7% from 2.6%.

Education and Financial Services maintained their inflation rates from the previous month.

Losare noted, “The top three commodity groups contributing to April’s overall inflation were Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, with an 81.3% share or 5.53 percentage points; Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, with a 4.8% share or 0.33 percentage points; and Health, with a 3.4% share or 0.23 percentage points.”

She further highlighted that core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, slowed to 3.3% in April from 3.5% in March. In April 2023, core inflation was higher at 6.2%.

Losare explained, “The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Guimaras stood at 131.7 in April 2024. This means a typical household in Guimaras needed 1,317 pesos in April 2024 to purchase the same basket of goods and services that cost 1,000 pesos in 2018. This is 1.3% lower than the 133.0 CPI in March 2024 and 8.0% higher than the 123.3 CPI in April 2023.”

“The Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) in Guimaras was 0.76 in April 2024, indicating that one peso in 2018 is now worth 76 centavos. This marks a slight improvement from 0.75 in March 2024 and a decline from 0.81 in April 2023,” Losare added.